The Crossroads
by Carrot Top
Summary: Jenna Matthews lost everyone and everything to the zombie apocalypse. Alone and with nowhere else to go, she kept pushing for Fort Benning, hoping her brother would still be alive and be waiting for there. But after a twist of fate lands her in a new group, Jenna suddenly finds herself on an entirely new journey full of all kinds of unexpected twists and turns... Eventual DarylOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, there. So I originally started this story sometime last year but took it down because A) I didn't feel like people were as into it as I'd hoped, and B) Honestly, even **_**I **_**wasn't all the thrilled with it. But the story never left me and has seriously been haunting me, so I figured I'd give it another shot. Now…a few words of warning. **

**Obviously if you watch the show/read the comics then you know how violent/graphic WD can be. There will be foul language and there will be violence in this story (duh). Also, if you're looking for instant romance then I'm afraid you're not gonna find it here. When I say eventual Daryl/OC, I mean **_**eventual **_**– Daryl and Jenna are both rough around the edges and kind of on the dysfunctional side, which is both a recipe for disaster **_**and **_**steamy sexiness. And let's face it, in the end Daryl is no Mr. Darcy…or wait…is he just a dirtier, more country version and I'm only just now realizing it? Hmmm…curious…**

**Also, I **_**am**_** following the storyline of the show but I'll be making changes to it, so I won't follow it to a tee (let's face it, it's boring as shit if I just rewrite the episodes). So I guess this is sort of an alternate version of WD? Yeah, that sounds like a good descriptor.**

**Anywho, that's what's up. If you're new to the story, welcome, and if you're returning, welcome back – now let's see what happens from here, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

* * *

**Part One  
****New Friends**

_Prologue_

It all started with a few strange reports on the evening news.

A man hopped up on bath-salts eats some homeless man's face. A wasted college kid kills his roommate then proceeds to have the poor kid's brain as his dinner. The stories were odd and disturbing, yes, but considering how many crazy people were roaming about in the world, they were stories that Jenna Matthews took in stride and eventually dismissed altogether. Hell, she could even remember _laughing_ about it with her friends at one point in time, remember making jokes about wanting to stock up on guns and ammo and provision, so she'd be ready when the 'zombies' came – _Before we know it, it'll be zombie-hunting season instead of deer-hunting season, _her boyfriend Jon had laughingly said one night while they sat on the couch listening to a report of yet _another _odd incident.

But as the days went on the stories started to come more frequently, and the jokes started to fade away because suddenly these strange occurrences weren't a laughing matter anymore – paranoia began to creep in all around until one day, as though someone had pulled some secret lever, everything suddenly changed. And in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Jenna's hometown of Houston, Texas abruptly fell into complete chaos...

* * *

"_I'm telling you, Mom, this whole thing is gonna blow over soon enough. CNN is just sensationalizing everything." Jenna tried to reason with her mother for the hundredth time that week – she tried not acknowledge the fact that even __**she **__wasn't entirely convinced by her own statements, because Renee Matthews was nothing if not neurotic and it was Jenna's job to try and calm her down, not make her even more panicky than she already was._

"_**Sensationalizing**__?" Her mother echoed incredulously. "No, this is serious, Jenna." She went on to argue. "They've closed downtown, for God's sake! They've quarantined the whole area!"_

_Jenna frowned at once – they'd closed off downtown Houston? This was certainly news to her. "Mom – "But the rest of her words died on her lips when loud, persistent knocking suddenly sounded on the back door. Jenna jumped in surprise, having to gulp past the sudden lump that had formed in her throat before heading for the door. "Hold on a second. Someone's at the door." _

_Her mother immediately began saying something loudly through the phone but since it had already been moved away from Jenna's ear, her mother's words were too faint to understand. Jenna walked through her kitchen and flicked up one of the blinds covering the window in the back door to see who was on the other side – it was her neighbor, Kim, and the woman looked absolutely petrified. _

_Kim waved her hands urgently, motioning for Jenna to open the door. As soon as Jenna did so her neighbor came rushing inside, nearly bowling the younger woman over in the process._

"_Kim, what the hell?" Jenna asked, her eyebrows furrowing together as Kim quickly slammed the door shut behind her._

"_I saw someone out there!" She hissed, turning her back on Jenna to peer out the window; the blonde-haired woman was visibly shaking with fear. "They were…they were…" But she couldn't seem to get the words out and Jenna frowned again when Kim finally turned to face her – tears were rolling down her cheeks and her eyes were so wide that it almost looked like they might pop right out of her head. "Jenna, it's true – all of it! Something's gone wrong. Something's happening." _

_Jenna could only stare at her in confusion for a moment, afraid to know what Kim was going on about, before remembering that her mother was still on the phone. While Kim turned back to the window, Jenna cursed and pressed the phone to her ear again. "Jenna! Answer me!" My mother was practically screaming on the other end once she could hear her again. _

"_Mom, relax. I'm here." Jenna told her, forcing her voice to remain calm despite the momentary chaos that had just erupted in her kitchen._

_Her mother heaved a huge sigh of relief over the phone. "Oh, thank God you're alright." She said in relief. "You have to be careful, Jenna! You don't understand! Things are starting to get…"_

_Jenna's mother continued to ramble on but most of what she was saying was falling on deaf ears, because paranoia had finally begun to seize Jenna – why __**wouldn't**_ _she be alright? And what exactly had Kim seen outside? What in the __**hell**__ was going on? __Deciding that things had gotten far too strange in the past couple of minutes, Jenna headed for the living room to click on the television and see if there were any breaking news reports. Her anxiety only worsened when instead of the usual showing of Wheel of Fortune, a bright red ticker has appeared at the bottom of screen and a worried looking news anchor was speaking. _

" – _among the infected areas. Military personnel and police forces have been deployed to begin evacuations, and aid will be offered to those in need of medical attention once safely transported to a protected location. It is strongly advised that all citizens stay indoors until further notified and to avoid any close contact with anyone showing signs of an attack."_

_Each word that the news anchor said made her heart pound harder in her chest - wasn't this just supposed to be a joke? Hadn't this just been some long-winded hoax? _

"_Oh my God…" Kim had followed her into the living room by now and was staring at the screen with a stunned expression that Jenna was sure mimicked the one on her own face – when the loud, unmistakable __**BANG**__ of a gunshot suddenly echoed outside, both women jumped in surprise._

_Jenna shot a look at her neighbor then hurried to the window to try and see what was going on, ignoring Kim's terrified urges for her not to. The limited view from the living room window revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but Jenna wasn't very comforted by that fact – there was definitely something wrong, now she just had to figure out what she was supposed to do about it._

_It took her only a second to come to a quick decision. "Mom, stay right where you are." She instructed her mother over the phone. "Don't go outside, don't open the door, don't even go to the window – I'm coming over." Jenna continued, brushing past a near hysterical Kim as she made for the bedroom. "Call Sam and tell him what's going on. He'll know what we need to do, okay?" _

"_Alright." Her mother readily agreed. "Be safe. __**Please**_ _be safe! I love you!" _

"_I love you, too. I'll see you in a few minutes." _

_Not even a second after she ended the call, the back door burst open for the second time in only a matter of minutes. Kim screamed in fright from the living room while Jenna froze in the hallway, but before either woman could so much as move even a finger, a tall, brown-haired man wielding a hunting rifle came striding into view – Jenna sighed in relief and hurried to meet her boyfriend, Jon, as he rushed over, readily accepting the hug that he wrapped her up in. _

"_Thank God, you're alright." Jon said, pressing a kiss to her red hair. When he pulled back his eyebrows were furrowed and there was a no-nonsense frown on his lips. "Jenna, we gotta go, there's – "_

"_I know." She interrupted quickly – she wasn't sure if she'd done so just to save time or if it was because she didn't want to hear, with her own ears, __**that**__ word; the 'z' word. "I saw the news."_

_Jon started to speak but paused when a still teary-eyed Kim came cautiously creeping around the corner. He frowned at her, staring at her with scrutinizing eyes for a moment, before quickly turning his attention back to Jenna. "Pack up some necessities." He instructed her without wasting anymore time. "We're gettin' the hell outta dodge." _

"_B-but the n-news report said – " Kim began to say. _

"_To hell with what they said." Jon interrupted sharply. "We need to get outta the city limits, get away from all these people. This shit spreads __**fast**_ _and things are already starting to get crazy. If we don't get out now then we may not get out alive." His words sent Kim into another round of hysterics but he didn't seem affected by it. "Pack quickly." He urged Jenna, pushing her gently in the direction of her bedroom. _

"_We have to get my mom." She told him, using a tone that left no room for argument. _

"_We will." Jon agreed. "Then we're gettin' my folks and leaving." _

_With that being said Jenna was off to her room while Jon began to raid the pantry. She could distantly hear him rummaging around and throwing canned goods into plastic sacks while she began wildly searching through her room for anything she thought she might need – phone, phone charger, underwear, clothes, shoes. Within moments the room looked as though a tornado had ripped through it thanks to her hasty, unorganized packing. Once she had a bag packed to capacity she headed into the study. Jenna went to a small file holder in the corner to grab a few important documents, just in case – when another gunshot sounded outside a few seconds later, followed by a distant, bloodcurdling scream, the blood in her veins ran cold. _

_Was this really happening? Was this the end of life as she knew it? For a moment it was difficult to breathe, difficult to even really think, but Jon's impatient call of, "Jenna, let's go!" snapped her back to reality and forced her feet forward again. There was something big happening, something life-changing whether Jenna wanted to believe it or not, but now was not the time to let her fear get the better of her. Right now she had to concentrate on getting her mother and getting the __**hell**__ out of town – she could worry about everything else later, once they had reached safety. _

_Kim had managed to pull herself together enough so that she could talk somewhat calmly with Jon. When Jenna re-entered the kitchen, the blonde was in the middle of telling him what she'd seen. " – just crouched over her." She explained in a shaky voice. "And there was blood __**everywhere**__…and…and I think he was – " Kim gagged for a moment and had to cover her mouth with her hand, looking like she might vomit. " – __**eating**_ _her." _

_Jenna shared a look with Jon over Kim's head as the woman dissolved into tears again. Jon heaved and cast an untrusting glare in the direction of the door. _

"_Alright…" He said slowly – she could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to come up with a plan. "Alright." He repeated, now looking a bit more confident. "Jenna, you head for the truck and __**don't**_ _stray." He instructed with a stern point of his finger. "Kim, make a run for your house – I'll cover you until you're inside. Then you find whoever you need to and you guys get outta town, got it?" _

_Kim paled, not looking overly fond of the plan, but Jon didn't give her any time to argue – he passed Jenna the bags of canned goods, readied his gun, then motioned for Kim to head for the door. "We're not bringing her with us?" Jenna asked Jon quietly, glancing toward Kim as she peered anxiously out the window._

_Jon frowned then slowly shook his head. "We can't be responsible for everyone we know, Jen." He replied lowly. "We need to worry about us and our own first."_

_Jenna sighed but then nodded in understanding. While they prepared to depart she slung her bag of belongings over her shoulder and snatched up her purse with her free hand, her eyes surveying the kitchen one last time as she tried to determine if there was anything else they needed…and it was then, in that moment, that it __**really**__ dawned on her. _

_If this problem, this __**outbreak**__ was bad enough, this may very well be the last time she ever stepped foot in this house. _

_Jenna pressed her lips together in a tight line to fight back the mounting emotions within and strode over to the refrigerator, juggling the items in her hands around so she could yank down the pictures of her family mounted on the door and stuff them into her purse. _

"_Babe, come on!" Jon urged._

_She finally rejoined Jon and Kim, and her boyfriend wasted no time to slowly open the door – Jenna half-expected some gruesome, bloody monster to jump out at them, but thankfully the only thing waiting on the other side of the door was Jon's truck. A third gunshot cracked through the air, sounding much louder and much closer, and the three of them flinched at the sound. _

_Jon poked his head out to look around before motioning for Kim and Jenna to follow him. "Alright…let's go." He finally said before raising his rifle, leading the girls outside, and leaving Jenna's house behind without another thought._

* * *

There had been pandemonium everywhere. Looters had begun invading electronic stores, grocery stores became overrun, gas stations turned into madhouses; and that was all _before _the disease had really begun to spread, _before the _S.W.A.T. team showed up, and before policemen with large plastic shields began marching through the streets. By the time Jenna, Jon, and their parents had made it to I-10, the reports on the radio were all the same – infection was spreading quickly, and sightings of the walking dead were piling up.

It had seemed so surreal at first, so impractical, but eventually Jenna was forced to face the truth – the unthinkable had happened and life as she and everyone else knew it was over. Of all the worldly dangers that humans had feared – cancer, global-warming, natural disasters – the end had come in the most unlikely of forms; zombies.

Now Jenna had always claimed that if a disaster like this struck then she'd have no problems surviving. Having watched horror movie after horror movie and criticized numerous victims for their poor choices, she'd been fairly confident that she knew what and what _not _to do in order to stay alive. But thinking you can survive a zombie apocalypse and actually being thrust right into one, Jenna quickly learned, were two _very _different things. And as it was, the undead monsters that had a hankering sweet tooth for human flesh weren't the only problem in this new world – having to find supplies and safe shelter and defend your own from other equally desperate survivors had swiftly (and harshly) reminded her of her own naïveté when it came to surviving under chaotic circumstances.

She, along with everyone else in the world, had to change, had to adapt to a way of living that was completely foreign to her. Before the zombies took over she'd only fired a gun twice in her life, and the only living thing she'd ever killed was a squirrel (which had been an accident and left her crying for the rest of the day). Now she couldn't count how many walkers she'd taken out since the apocalypse hit, nor how many times she'd pulled the trigger of a gun. Before all of this happened Jenna's life had been a simple one, a life of routine and order and where she wasn't faced with life or death situations on a near constant basis. This new life – where danger lurked around every corner, where she was never guaranteed a next meal or even another day of _life_ – made her realize just how horribly she had taken her old one for granted.

In the beginning the plan had seemed simple – her older brother, Sam, who had been stationed at Fort Benning for over two years, had instructed Jenna and her group to drive to Georgia and take refuge with him at the military base. _'There's plenty of food supplies and lots of medicine'_, he'd told them. _'This place is impenetrable – you'll be completely safe here'. _And since the rest of the world was turning to shit and they didn't really know what _else _to do, they'd agreed that was their best course of action.

Unfortunately, they had _all _underestimated just how dangerous the road to Fort Benning was going to be. And now, sixty-something days into the apocalypse, Jenna was the only person from her group still alive and still trying desperately to reach Fort Benning. She'd thought about giving up countless times, had acknowledged the possibility that she might _never _make it there or, even worse, that her brother might already be dead…but somehow, someway, she'd found it in herself to keep pushing forward, keep trying, keep _hoping_. Because at the end of the day, Sam was all that she had left in this horrible, terrifying world. And she _was_ going to find him…

…or she was going to die trying.

~*T*C*~

_Chapter 1_

"Well…_shit_."

With a giant heave Jenna lowered the binoculars she'd just been peering through and shifted uneasily, eyeing the city that stretched out before her with a disgruntled expression.

Venturing into a place like downtown Atlanta was usually against her rules – in the past, nearly every trip through a greater metropolitan area had proven to be nothing short of suicidal. Unfortunately, the fact remained that she was low on ammunition and every store _outside _of the city looked to have been ransacked ages ago; the chances that there were abandoned weapons lying around just ready for the taking were slim, but seeing as she was down to a handful of shotgun shells, a hatchet, and a baseball bat, well… there were really no other options laid before her. If Jenna wanted to be able to defend herself, there was no other choice but to start combing the streets for supplies – plain and simple.

…of course, the task might not have been _quite _as daunting if it weren't for the fact that the streets were currently _packed_ with undead walkers.

Deciding to just get the (most likely suicidal) trip over with, Jenna heaved and kneeled down to stow her binoculars away in the duffel bag at her feet before pulling out her hatchet and sliding it into the waistband of her jeans – trial and error had taught her that using a gun only attracted more of the flesh-eating monsters, so the shotgun stayed in the bag with the binoculars. Once the bag was zipped closed and thrown over her shoulder, she snatched up her bat and headed for the fire escape.

_Be quick, Matthews. No straggling, don't get distracted, _she mentally prepped herself while making her way back down to the street. _Just find something useful and get the hell out._

The stench of rotting carcasses was overwhelming once she reached the last step and dropped down onto the pavement below, and it was not only a smell that she had never quite been able to grow accustomed to, but also a vivid reminder that she was officially in zombie territory. The scent was foul enough to make her pause as she tried not to gag – concentrating on breathing through her mouth rather then her nose helped suppress the wave of nausea enough so that she could fight through it and move forward.

Each step towards the main street made her heart pound harder against her ribs but the redhead valiantly pushed past her apprehension and trudged forward resiliently, maneuvering the bag on her shoulder until it was hanging diagonally across her back. With both arms now free, Jenna tightened her grip on her bat and paused at the edge of the building to peek around and see what kind of 'obstacle course o' terror' awaited her – luckily there seemed to be only a handful of walkers where she was at the moment.

"In and out…" She muttered to herself, carefully watching the decaying, disgusting parasites that ambled about. Then Jenna sucked in a steady breath before releasing it nervously. "Piece'a cake..."

And with that she sunk down into a crouch and stealthily began slinking away, leaving the safety of her hiding spot as she started to make her way into the open streets of downtown Atlanta.

Searching around for weapons whilst also trying to stay out of sight was _not _the easiest thing in the world – Jenna had to stay on the constant move to avoid running into chompers, ducking behind dumpsters or concealing herself amongst the deserted cars in an attempt to remain undetected. But for ten minutes the redhead managed to successfully weave her way down the street without drawing any attention to herself.

Yet the further she travelled into downtown, the more it began to sink in just how _badly_ this trip could end up going if she made a mistake – after another few blocks, the scent of a nearby, living human seemed to finally be registering with the walkers closest to her. Jenna paused behind a large bus and watched with increasing alarm as a nearby group of flesh-eaters began turning their noses up into the air, resembling hound-dogs as they started sniffing out a possible meal. Without a second thought, Jenna took a sharp turn down the next alley she came across and quickly scurried away, happy to put some distance between her and the creatures that'd love nothing more than to snack on her spleen.

Jenna sat perfectly still for a moment, trying to decide where to go from there…_Now what? _She glanced left towards the main street, then right towards a back-road. It was the sight of a busted-up pickup on the back-road that finally caught her interest, and she only contemplated her options for one more moment before deciding to check it out – a muddy pickup in Georgia? It practically _screamed_ redneck. And every redneck that _Jenna _had ever known had usually been armed to the teeth at all times.

Jenna turned right and headed away from the main road, but in her eagerness to see what sort of treasures awaited in the truck she forgot to make sure that the path to the vehicle was a safe one – the instant that she strode out of the shadows of the alley she was forced to jump out of the way to avoid a pair of bloody hands that suddenly came grappling towards her.

The smell of decaying flesh assaulted her senses so harshly that her eyes watered, but she managed to overcome both the grotesque smell _and_ her surprise at the walker's sudden appearance before swinging the bat in her hands with all of her might. It connected with the walker's head with a sickening _THUNK, _spattering blood in every direction and sending the walker flying to the ground. Two more firm hits to the head successfully ended the thing's existence and she paused once it was no longer moving, crouching low in an attempt to make herself smaller and scanning the area to make sure the sound of the scuffle hadn't attracted any of the monster's friends; she only breathed a little easier when no other zombies made an immediate appearance.

With her window of opportunity getting smaller with each passing second, Jenna hastily made for the truck and practically dove into the open passenger seat in her haste to get out of sight as quickly as possible. She ignored the blood decorating a large portion of the inside (which she couldn't help but notice seemed fairly new) and started rifling through the debris inside, pushing papers to the side, checking the glove compartment, and searching underneath the seats – the hunt, unfortunately, produced nothing useful.

The redhead backed out of the truck with a curse and a heave, pausing to stare at it for a moment with her hands on her hips – that was when she spotted the metal toolbox in the bed. Immediately Jenna hoisted herself up into the bed of the truck to check it out but cursed again upon seeing that the toolbox was securely locked with a padlock. Hoping and praying that whoever had owned the truck had left in a hurry and forgotten to take his or her keys with them (assuming they were still alive), she leaned in through the busted out back-window and peered around the cab again, searching hopefully for keys.

In what she was pretty sure was her first stroke of good fortune in over a month, Jenna located the keys in the ignition.

As soon as she had them in hand she began inspecting each individual key, searching for the one that might fit into the padlock. Once Jenna had found one that she thought might be correct, she wasted no time sliding it into the lock – it required all of her self-control _not_ to cry out in triumph when the padlock jumped apart (since she didn't want to make any unnecessary noise) and her fingers immediately scrambled to unhook it from the toolbox, tossing the metal object carelessly to the side once it was free. The metal lid groaned in protest when the top was lifted open, but Jenna didn't have time to worry about the noise it was making – she was _far_ more concerned with whatever might be lying inside.

Wrenches, large wire cutters, fence tool pliers…they weren't guns and they certainly weren't her top choices when it came to weapons, but they were quiet (which was favorable) and would do some serious damage if swung at a zombie's head; each tool winds up stowed away in her bag.

With a groan Jenna then pulled out the heavy shelf in the toolbox, grinning widely as soon as she saw what was hiding underneath – a handgun, an almost completely full box of bullets, and a half empty box of shotgun shells. "Thank _God_ for rednecks." Jenna said aloud, feeling rather pleased with the way this trip was panning out.

A loud crash suddenly sounded from the alleyway and immediately had Jenna dropping down out of sight, her momentary elation dissipating in an instant as she was reminded just where she was at that particular moment in time. The distant sound of feet pounding on pavement reached Jenna's ears but she remained ducked out of sight, listening as this unannounced newcomer ran away until she was positive that they were gone.

_What the hell was that?_

It was eerily silent again as Jenna took a cautious peek over the side of the truck, but as her eyes swept the area she discovered that there was nothing to see. At the moment Jenna was completely alone and the ruckus the stranger had created didn't seem to have drawn any attention yet, but a number of parasites were lingering only a few blocks away and she knew it'd only be a matter of time before they came stumbling in her direction. So having decided that she didn't have time to worry about the stranger and that she'd risked her neck enough for one afternoon, there seemed no better time than the present to wrap up her little excursion and head back to her own truck…but not before making sure her newly acquired gun was loaded and tucked into the waistband of her overly-large jeans, just in case.

* * *

The journey _out_ of the city was significantly longer than the one in. A few more undead (and equally unlucky) bastards ended up on the wrong end of Jenna's bat, interfering a little with her journey back, and not to mention that the added weight of the tools in her bag slowed her down considerably. Eventually she made it back to the building she'd used to scope out downtown, though, and from there the redhead followed the sporadic, bright green marks she'd made with a can of spray paint in order to find her way back to the truck. Jenna's clothes were covered in zombie blood (again) and her back was killing her thanks to the weight of her newly acquired weapons, but for once Lady Luck _finally_ seemed to be smiling down on her – she'd manage to scrounge up enough weapons to (hopefully) see her through the next few weeks, and for once the trip hadn't ended with her running for her life.

The metal tools clinked together as she hiked the bag up higher on her shoulder and Jenna winced at the strain it was putting on her body – at one point in her life she could have toted the bag around with ease, but lack of nutrition and constant travel had shrunk her once strong, healthy, one-hundred-and-forty pound frame into a much skinnier, much weaker figure. The clothes that had been appropriately sized only months ago were much baggier now and the display of sharp bones that could be spotted at her hips and shoulders would have absolutely made her mother's head _spin_. For a moment Jenna could hear her mother's chastising voice in her hear, could imagine the stern lecture she would have received if her mother had seen her like this; when those thoughts only served to bring forth a torrent of emotions that she didn't particularly want to deal with right then, she determinedly pushed her mother's would-be lecture out of mind.

_Almost there_, Jenna told herself encouragingly as she trudged along. The sun had only risen higher into the sky as the day had dragged on and, though she hadn't thought it possible, it seemed to have gotten even hotter. Jenna started to use her shirt to wipe away the sweat running down from her forehead but then rethought the decision once she saw just how much blood was staining the worn cotton. She plucked at the shirt with a sour expression and shook her head in disgust – what wouldn't she give to have a shower right then? Hell, when was the last time she'd even _attempted_ to bathe?

Jenna decided right then and there that the first thing she was going to do when she arrived at Fort Benning was take a scalding hot shower.

She was just turning around a corner and heading for the underpass she'd parked the truck under, feeling immensely relieved that she'd made it back in one piece, when the sound of echoing voices suddenly reached her ears.

" – still warm underneath the hood. Couldn't've been 'ere long." A thickly accented voice was explaining. "Don't see no food're nothin'. No ammo, neither."

"Think we should take it?" Another asked. "It looks pretty cool…"

"Don't seem like'a bad idea." The first voice agreed. "Looks like this thing's rigged up to run right over geeks. Certainly wouldn't mind _that._"

It only took a second for Jenna to deduce that the men she was listening to had found her truck and were contemplating stealing it.

Now it was a very strict rule of hers to avoid other survivors if possible, but seeing as her only form of transportation was on the line, well…sometimes rules needed to be broken. While the men continued debating whether they should take the truck or not, Jenna unzipped her bag, tossed the bat into it, then reached for the shotgun. Confronting these strangers was risky – and a bit frightening – but she now had plenty of weapons to protect herself with if things got messy. So with squared shoulders and a determined jut of her chin, Jenna readied her gun and strode forward until she could finally spot the men surrounding her large, black truck.

There were four of them – two were standing off to the side, one a brown-haired fellow in a cop uniform and the other a bald black man, while two more, an Asian and a rugged looking white man, were snooping around in the truck. None of them noticed her until she cocked her shotgun and the sound echoed off of the concrete underpass. In an instant all four were at attention and immediately turning to face the redhead, all looking at her with similar expressions of surprise.

"I'm only gonna ask you to get away from my truck once." Jenna told them firmly, taking a few more slow steps in their direction. Seeing as the rugged looking one was practically in the driver's seat already and regarding her with open distaste, Jenna turned her full attention, and her gun, on him. "Kindly step away."

"Oh, yeah? What ya gonna – " He started to snap back confrontationally.

"Daryl." The cop's sharp interjection made the man named Daryl fall silent. "Get away from the lady's truck."

Daryl sincerely looked like he wanted to argue with the cop, but he gritted his teeth instead and took a few steps away from the truck. It was only then that Jenna realized he had a crossbow in his right hand – he brought it up to rest against his shoulder in a seemingly casual way, but the look in his eye let her know that he'd have absolutely no qualms using it on her if he had to.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We didn't mean any harm." The cop began to say, drawing Jenna's attention and causing her eyes to flicker over to him – his hands were raised up in surrender. "We were just curious. That's all." Jenna didn't say anything in return but took a moment to stare each one of them down. The black man had an unreadable expression on his face but the Asian's wide eyes were flickering back and forth between Jenna, the cop, and country-boy Daryl in obvious anxiety. "Are you alone?"

Past experiences had left Jenna with zero trust in strangers – plain and simple. And at that moment she was sorely tempted not to offer up any information to this motley group of men. But at the same time it was hard to overlook the genuine concern in the cop's eyes, so Jenna shifted on her feet, eyeing each man untrustingly again, before meeting the cop's gaze.

"I might be." She finally answered, being as vague as possible.

The cop nodded slowly. "Well, my name's Rick Grimes. That there is T-Dog," He began to introduce, starting with the black man, "Glenn," He continued, motioning to the Asian next, "and Daryl." Jenna's eyes lingered on Daryl, whom she shared a glare with. "Is it too much to ask that you lower your gun, ma'am?"

"That's not happening." Jenna told him immediately, turning her eyes back to him.

Rick pursed his lips. "We're not gonna hurt you." He told her reassuringly.

"Yeah, well, in my experience I've learned it's better to be safe than sorry." Rick seemed a little taken aback by this statement. His eyebrows raised a little as he shared a look with T-Dog. "Now if you don't mind, there's hundreds of flesh-eating pests not all that far from here and I'd like to clear out. So…"

Jenna trailed off and waved them away with her gun, silently telling them to back off and making sure to keep a hard look in place so as to carefully conceal how _nervous_ she actually was right then. Rick nodded and motioned for Daryl and Glenn to back away from the truck while he and T-Dog started to clear out. Glenn scampered off like his pants were on fire but Daryl took his time, glaring at Jenna with brazen dislike and making sure to stride within a few feet from her, probably in an attempt to be intimidating; she would never admit to it, but it had worked.

Once they were a safe distance away she backed towards the truck, keeping her gun trained on the group of men the entire way. She'd almost made it to the large vehicle when Rick spoke up again. "Texas, huh? Long way from home." He said, studying the license plate for a moment. "Anywhere in particular you're headed?"

The last time she'd heard that question from a stranger it had ended in disaster, so a red flag of warning immediately went up in her mind. "Why do you wanna know?" She asked suspiciously, unable to keep the edge out of her voice.

Rick seemed to understand he'd struck a nerve and held his hands up again, the look on his face silently telling her that he'd meant nothing by the question. "We've got a camp not far from here. Not just with more men but with women and children, too, my family included." He explained in a calm tone. "You must have a reason for comin' out this far. If you know somethin' we don't, well…I'd sure like to be enlightened."

Now there was an internal war waging within her head. She knew better than to reveal too much about herself by now, knew she shouldn't trust these strange men that had been contemplating taking one of the few lifelines she had left, but something about Rick just seemed trustworthy. Not to mention the fact that they were four men who were all much bigger and stronger than her – shotgun or no they could have easily overthrown her by now if they'd really wanted to. Jenna shuffled on her feet, debating if she should give Rick an answer or not, before she heaved heavily.

"Headed to a military base." She finally answered, trying not to go into specifics.

"Fort Benning, maybe?" Rick asked for clarification.

"C'mon, Grimes." Daryl interjected before she could answer. There was still a scowl on his face and by now he was looking highly impatient. "We ain't got time for this shit. Leave the bitch 'n let's go."

The rude name had Rick cringing and her lifting a dangerous eyebrow. "Excuse me?" Jenna asked sharply, turning her attention to him again.

"Did I _stutter_?" Daryl countered challengingly.

Jenna's grip on the gun tightened and she narrowed her eyes at him, momentarily forgetting that she needed to play it safe and tread carefully with these men as her anger flared. "Can you even _spell _stutter, hillbilly?"

"Why you – "

Daryl took a threatening step toward Jenna but Rick stopped him by throwing an arm out in front of his chest. Jenna shifted again, starting to feel a little anxious with this predicament, and watched as Rick and Daryl had a quick, hushed argument that was too faint to hear. Once Rick was finished saying his piece Daryl tossed an indignant hand up and turned to begin impatiently pacing. Neither T-Dog nor Glenn seemed too keen to interfere with anything, choosing to silently watch the scene unfold instead.

"Listen, I know you don't trust me." Rick stated bluntly, refocusing his attention on Jenna. "But I'd be lyin' if I said lettin' you go ahead on your own didn't worry me. It's not safe and, well, it just doesn't feel right."

Jenna cast a quick look towards Daryl, whose agitation was growing by the second, then met Rick's pleading stare again. There was still nothing but sincerity in his eyes and it was almost enough to make her falter – almost. "I've managed fine on my own. I'll be good until Fort Benning."

"There's a whole camp – " Glenn finally started to speak up.

"No thank you." Jenna interrupted firmly.

Glenn pressed his lips together tightly and nodded once, not attempting to argue with Jenna any further. Rick, on the other hand, wasn't going to give up so easily. took a step forward. "Drivin' in from Texas you must'a come in from I-10, right?" He asked, taking a step in her direction.

Rick's new approach made her frown at him in confusion. _What was he playing at? _"Yeah…" She said slowly.

He tilted his head at her, his eyebrows raising some. "So if you were headed to Fort Benning, how'd you end up in Atlanta?"

Jenna glanced at T-Dog and Glenn for a second, who seemed equally confused as to why he was asking such questions. "I took the 75." She told him, though it sounded more like a question than a statement in her puzzlement.

"Thought you might've." Rick said with a nod. "To get to Fort Benning from I-10 ya shoulda gotten off at the _65_." He explained to her knowingly. "You've been takin' the long way, ma'am. _Very _long way – if you'd had someone to point ya in the right direction, ya wouldn't have wasted so many resources." Then he smirked a little. "Ya see? Bein' in a group has its advantages."

Jenna frowned at him in light of his reverse psychology – she'd _known _which road she was supposed to take because Jon had drilled the directions into her head countless times, having known very well she was directionally-challenged and wanting to make sure she knew the way incase something happened to him. "I didn't come this way by choice." She told Rick firmly, quickly coming to her own defense. "The 65 was jam packed by the time I made it there. I didn't have any other option but to take the long way around."

"I see." Rick said with a nod of his head – then he glanced down at her bag. "Must be real low on supplies if you braved a city full'a walkers by yourself." He observed. "And it don't look like ya got any food at the moment." When Jenna said nothing in response, Rick sighed heavily. "Look, we've got a camp northwest'a here, by the quarry. There's food, shelter, protection…" He trailed off and glanced back at his comrades, as though seeking permission – Glenn was the only one to nod his head in encouragement. "You're welcome'ta come and stay with us, even if just for tonight. You'd have a decent meal 'n a good night's sleep."

Jenna stared at Rick for a long moment before sighing and finally lowering her gun. The tension immediately left Rick's shoulders in response to this move and he offered a quick smile, nodding at her encouragingly.

Now she'd encountered plenty of strangers on her way to Georgia and, unfortunately, most of them had been nothing but trouble – Rick, on the other hand, seemed different. There wasn't even a hint of hostility to him, only a welcoming, friendly vibe that was very hard to ignore. But try as she might, Jenna simply couldn't forget all of the hardships that she'd faced by being too trusting of strangers; as tempting as a good meal and safe place to sleep sounded, she just couldn't bring herself to break her own rules and join these new acquaintances.

"Listen, Rick – " Jenna paused when Daryl let out a massive, irritable heave and shot a look in his direction. "I wanna believe you're a good person and that you're being sincere." She continued, focusing on Rick now. "But I just can't find it in me to trust you…not enough to join your group, anyway. Not even for a night."

Rick looked thoroughly disheartened by her words. "Alright then." He said in resignation, clearly giving up on trying to sway Jenna's decision. "Do you know the way to Fort Benning from here?"

"Just gotta hop on the 85, right?"

"Right." Rick said with a nod. "Mind if I show you a few alternate routes?" He then asked with raised eyebrows. "That way you'd have a backup plan 'case ya run into trouble…and it'd give me a little peace'a mind." He added with a pointed look, obviously displeased with Jenna's decision to continue on by herself.

Jenna thought it over for a second, remembered how horrible her sense of direction was when she was in unfamiliar territory, then nodded her head in agreement. Rick started towards her and, out of habit, she backed away to keep some space between them – it was obvious that he noticed the move on her part but he said nothing about it, merely continued on as though he hadn't seen anything.

"There's a map in the passenger seat." Jenna said, jerking her head towards the truck. She might have grabbed it herself but decided to keep both hands on her gun, just in case.

Rick nodded, stepped around her, and leaned into the truck to grab the map. The others seemed a little apprehensive, probably worried that she'd do something to the man that was obviously the one in charge, but none of them made any moves to come closer, just watched closely from where they stood.

Once the map was splayed out on the hood Jenna diverted her attention back to Rick, listening intently to his directions as he started pointing out certain routes on the map. It occurred to her that this would have been a golden opportunity for Rick if he wanted to attack her, but nothing about his demeanor seemed aggressive even in the slightest. Again she found herself contemplating if she should trust him, if she should accept the help that he was offering, but decided against it in the end – her mission was to get to Sam. And even though he _seemed _friendly, for all she knew trusting Rick Grimes could end up being the biggest mistake she'd ever make.

Once Rick was finished giving directions, he rolled up the map and offered it to her. She glanced at it, unwilling to take a hand off her gun to accept it, and watched as he chose to toss it into the truck instead. Then he turned back to her and ran a hand through his hair before dropping his hands to rest on his hips – she briefly eyed the gun hanging on his hip, but he made no move to grab it.

"If you change your mind you know where we're stayin'." Rick told her with a small frown. "Tell 'em I sent you and I'm sure you'll be welcomed."

"Noted." Jenna said in response, even though she had no intentions of paying Rick's camp a visit.

Rick nodded, paused for a second, then stuck his hand out – Jenna stared at it unsurely for a moment before slowly moving one of her hands off the gun to grasp his. She tensed as they shook hands, half-expecting an attack to come or for the other three to jump into action, but to her relief nothing of the sort happened. "My thoughts'll be with you." Rick told her earnestly. "Be safe…" Then he trailed off with a smirk. "I'm sorry, I don't even know your name, ma'am."

"Jenna."

Rick nodded again. "Be safe, Jenna."

Then he released her hand and turned around to go and rejoin his companions. Jenna immediately relaxed, starting to feel a bit awe-struck now that the encounter was coming to a close – these were the first strangers she'd come across in God knows _how _long that _hadn't _had some ulterior, underlying motive. It was strange, it was unexpected, and, admittedly, it left her feeling a little uncertain as to whether she'd made the right decision or not.

"Fuckin' finally." Daryl growled, not even sparing Jenna another look before turning and stalking off.

Rick immediately followed after him, as did T-Dog after a quick nod in Jenna's direction, but Glenn lingered with an uncertain expression on his face. "Rick's right, you know – it's not safe on your own." He says with a little shrug.

"Maybe not, but it isn't always safe in a group either." Jenna countered matter-of-factly.

Glenn opened his mouth to say something else but Daryl beat him to the punch. "Come on, china-man!" He called over his shoulder impatiently. "Leave the idiot to die on 'er own!"

There was a biting remark hanging on the tip of Jenna's tongue reserved especially for the crass, crossbow-wielding Daryl, but she decided to keep it to herself as she glared at his back – if nothing else, she took comfort in the fact that _not _joining their group meant she wouldn't have to deal with _him_. Glenn shot Jenna an apologetic frown then waved goodbye and turned to leave, having to jog to catch up with the rest of the group. Jenna only watched them go for a few more moments until the weight of her bag reminded her how sore and tired her body was becoming – it was time to get out of the city and find a place to hunker down for the night.

Jenna hauled the bag off, tossed it into the truck, then sighed in relief as she slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. She was going to do nothing but rest tonight; she certainly thought she'd earned that much after having such a successful day. Then, tomorrow, with her new weapons and the added bonus of Rick Grimes' directions, she'd be on her way out of Atlanta and headed for Fort Benning – the thought brought a genuine smile to her face for the first time in nearly a month.

As Jenna set her shotgun off to the side and started up the loud, roaring engine of her truck, she took a moment to look around and see if she could still spot the four men, but they'd already disappeared. She knew all too well what sort of danger waited for them in downtown having just been through herself, and suddenly, inexplicably, she felt a little guilty for not warning them. _They're from here, _Jenna reasoned with herself. _They probably already know. _But there was still an uneasy feeling in her stomach that completely contradicted both her decision to not join Rick's group _and _the walls she'd been building up between her and anyone who _wasn't_ Samuel Matthews since the day she'd been left vulnerable and alone in this terrible world.

Jenna sighed and shook her head to clear away the confusing thoughts, then finally pulled away, setting off for the roads that Rick had directed her towards. "Good luck, guys." She found herself muttering despite everything. "Stay alive."

* * *

**Reviews = love! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, you guys. I just want to hug and squeeze every last one of you! Thanks so much for the support and glad to see that people are returning for the story. I don't know about ya'll, but I'm pretty damn excited about this!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 2_

By the next day, it seemed as though Jenna's run of good fortune had come to an end.

She woke the next morning feeling not all that well rested – a good night of sleep was hard to get when you had to sleep with one eye open – and with a rumbling stomach that demanded the sustenance she'd been strictly denying it for almost two days; since she didn't have much food, Jenna forced herself to ration it in hopes that would prolong the moment that she ran out.

But upon getting into the metal tool box in the bed of the truck, where she'd securely locked up what little food rations she had left while exploring downtown, she discovered that a good portion of her food had spoiled after being locked up in a sweltering hot toolbox for an entire day. So instead of packing up and continuing on towards 85, as had been the plan, her day instead consisted of scouring the area around her temporary camp for provisions, all the while mentally berating herself for being such a careless idiot – _Note to self: metal tool box in boiling Georgia heat equals makeshift oven. Not suitable for food storage_.

Unfortunately her day of searching didn't produce much – all of the stores in the area had been cleaned out already, and when she decided to be a little brave and start searching through abandoned cars, the only food she managed to get her hands on before flesh-eaters started catching onto her and making appearances were a box of granola bars and some old crackers found buried underneath the seat of a station wagon; it wasn't _nearly _enough to see her through to Fort Benning. That meant that Jenna was now either going to have to search around again the next time she came across a neighborhood or try her hand at hunting, which, honestly, was a joke in and of itself – hunting required skill, which she had none of, and bullets, which drew unwanted attention and were too precious to waste.

…then again, if she _didn't _try to get her hands on some sort of food – and _soon_ – it wouldn't be long before the possibility of starvation started to become a very real threat.

These were the challenges Jenna was faced with day in and day out. Where would she find her next meal? And who would she have to fight to get to it? In the beginning she'd had Jon to depend on for things like that – he had hunted all his life, was good with a gun, and had been able to keep their bellies relatively full. Those days were long gone, though, and now it was just Jenna trying her hardest to stay alive by living off of scraps and always following the strict set of rules she'd made for herself after Jon died.

**Rule number one **– see a hoard of walkers? Don't try to be a hero or a show off, just get the hell out.

**Rule number two** – see a group of _survivors_, dangerous looking or not? Don't make friends, either hide or run.

**Rule number three** – ration the food and ration the water, because it was never a guarantee that she'd be able to replace what she'd used.

And finally, **rule number four** – _never _travel at night. Headlights attracted attention, and since dangerous bandits ran rampant these days – especially on the highways – that was _very_ bad news.

By nightfall Jenna could be found posted up in a new camp she'd made on the roof of a ransacked convenience store in some nameless suburb, still feeling rather disheartened after a day full of let-downs and no closer to Fort Benning than she had been this time yesterday. Her oh-so-delectable dinner consisted of nothing but a granola bar, a leftover strip of jerky that was so tough she thought she might break her teeth trying to eat it, and some stale crackers, but she supposed it was better than nothing; Jenna had to dutifully remind herself that there were people out there who didn't have any food at all and that she had to cherish what she _did _have, even if it was meager and unsatisfying.

The air was surprisingly crisp now that the sun had tucked itself away for the night. Jenna tightened the blanket around her shoulders to block out the chill trying to seep through her clothes and settled further into her compact camping chair once she was finished eating, her fingers idly toying with the ring hanging from a chain around her neck – it was her mother's wedding ring; Jenna had managed to salvage it after she died, having wanted to keep _something_ of her mother's with her to remember her by.

The undead were roaming freely around on the streets below and the desolate town around her looked like it could have been the set of a gruesome horror movie, but despite that she had to admit that there _was_ something to be said for the view overhead – lack of city lights allowed the stars in the night sky to shine out all the clearer, and she couldn't help but turn her eyes up to admire them. The moon was large and full too, illuminating everything it touched, and when Jenna shifted her eyes downward some she was presented with a rather picturesque view of the pearly-looking skyscrapers that made up downtown Atlanta just a handful of miles away – it was eerily strange how peaceful everything looked from this point of view, especially since Jenna knew exactly how chaotic everything _actually_ was.

She usually tried not to think about the ones that she'd lost since it only ever proved to dredge up heart-breaking memories that she'd rather not think about, but camping out in the open like this suddenly makes her recall happier times. Times when she, her brother, and their friends would drive down to the beach about an hour away from their house back in Houston and camp out underneath the stars. They'd make huge bonfires, drink way too much beer, feast on sand-infested hotdogs and hamburgers…Jenna closed her eyes and smiled longingly to herself, wishing she could have those nights back and still able to easily recall what each of their friends looked like. There had been dark-haired Randy with his annoying terrier always nipping at everyone's heels. Short, muscular Nick who had a gap between his front teeth. Tall, lanky Robb always cracking jokes, and so many others that she'd always thought would be in her life but whom she hadn't seen or spoken to since all of this happened.

Jenna opened her eyes again and frowned – she realized in that moment that she would never know what had become of any of them.

She shook her head and settled further into her chair, forcing the memories of her old friends out of her head – honestly, there was no use thinking about them anymore. Now they were nothing but ghosts from a former life, people that she would never see again now that the world had gone to shit and now that she was so far away from a home that she would never return to.

The sound of errant moans and groans could be heard down below but Jenna ignored it and shut her eyes again, intent on trying to get a decent night of sleep. It had been irritating and frustrating not to cover any ground that day, but Jenna reasoned with herself that having another night of rest before starting the trek to Fort Benning would probably end up being for the better in the end. And since it was a rare occasion indeed that she managed to find a place to sleep that kept her safely out of the clutches of unfavorables, Jenna had every intention of taking full advantage of her newfound safety.

Hell, she might even sleep in tomorrow…

* * *

"_Where are you?" _

_Jenna turned her back on the sight of Jon and his father, Bill, as they attempted to siphon gas out of some abandoned cars and took a few steps away from the others for privacy. "Somewhere in Lake Charles." She answered – the wind picked up for a moment, stirring up some randomly scattered papers that littered the deserted streets, and she wrapped an arm around herself in the vain hope that it would provide some sense of security. It didn't work. _

"_You've only made it to Lake Charles?" Sam asked incredulously. "You've been on the road for over a __**week**__. What the hell's taking so long?"_

_His attitude, as always, managed to strike a nerve that only an older brother seemed to know how to find, and it immediately had her annoyance spiking. "Oh, well, we just figured that since we're in the area we might as well hit up the casinos, maybe even have a few drinks…ya know, __**really**_ _make a trip out of it." Jenna told her brother sarcastically. _

"_Don't be a smartass." Sam snapped. _

"_Then don't ask stupid questions." Was her quick retort. Sam started to argue some more but Jenna quickly spoke up to cut him off when she remembered that winning a verbal spat with her brother was the least of her concerns right then. "Listen, we don't need to argue, alright? We're trying to go as fast as we can, it's just…" She trailed off and eyed a car that appeared to have recently been on fire – the charred remains of the car's owner were still inside and the sight made her stomach turn unpleasantly. "…getting to Georgia's no walk in the park." _

_Sam heaved over the phone – in her head she could practically picture him frowning and running a hand through his hair, as he always did when he was agitated. "Sorry, sis. I'm just worried about you guys." He said apologetically. Then he asked, "How's mom?" _

_Jenna glanced over her shoulder to see that their mother was still seated in the truck with Jon's mother, Kelly. She was gnawing nervously at her fingernails and peering out into the street with wary eyes. "Mom's…fine. Or at least as fine as she can be – you know how she can get." She told Sam with a sigh._

"_Yeah, I know." There was a short pause on his end and before he spoke again. "You guys run into a lotta trouble?"_

_Now Jenna __**could**__ have told him about the gang of corpses Jon and Bill had fought through at the hardware store three days ago when they went searching for supplies, __**could**__ have told him about the group of survivors they'd nearly had an all out brawl with at an abandoned Piggly Wiggly the day before, but decided not to say anything that would only make him more worried than he already was in the end. "Not really." She lied._

"_Good." Sam said, sounding relieved – Jenna wasn't sure how to feel about the false sense of security she'd just provided him with. "God, I wish I was there with ya'll…"_

_The guilt in his voice suddenly made her throat feel a little constricted. Jenna had to take a deep breath to keep herself from dissolving into tears right then and there, wanting to see her brother so badly that it almost hurt. They'd always been close, had always looked out for each other – he was, without a doubt, her rock. "Me too, Sam." She managed to croak out. "Me too."_

_Voices suddenly sounded in the background on Sam's end of the line, and Jenna listened as her brother had a quick, muffled conversation with someone until he finally turned his attention back to her again. _

"_Hey, I have to go." He said reluctantly, his voice dripping with regret. Then he dropped his voice a little, making her strain a little harder to hear his next words. "Listen, sis. Things are really starting to get crazy. You may think its bad now but this is only the beginning – it's only gonna get worse from here." He explained, making her heart sink; considering how chaotic everything already was, the thought of things getting even __**worse**__ sent a shiver of fear down her spine. "You do __**whatever**_ _you have to in order to get here, do you understand me? Even if it means fighting off other survivors or…"He hesitated for a second. "…defending yourself from your own people." _

_Jenna looked back towards her group and frowned, positive she knew what he was trying to tell her but still not liking it one bit. "What are you saying, Sam?" She asked slowly, feigning ignorance._

"_You know exactly what I'm saying, Jenna." He countered pointedly. "Once someone's a walker there's no going back for them. If someone turns, __**take**__ – __**them**__ – __**out**__." _

_Jenna gulped and turned her eyes up to the sky, having to suck in a steadying breath as Sam's instruction shook her to the very core. The thought of anyone in her group turning into one of those mindless monsters left a sick feeling in her stomach as it was, but the thought of actually having to __**kill**_ _someone that she cared about, even if they were a zombie, left her fighting the urge to vomit. _

"_I…I don't know if I can." Jenna admitted in a strained voice. _

"_Jenna, you're not gonna really have any other choice." Sam stated, leaving no room for argument. "And you're tougher than you think you are, sis." He might have continued on with more encouraging words but the same voices on his end began speaking again, and this time they sounded much more impatient. Sam quickly yelled to someone that he'd be along shortly then turned his attention back to her. "I really have to go now – remember what I said."_

"_Okay." Jenna said, even though getting off the phone with him was the last the thing she wanted to do._

"_I'll…I'll see you soon, alright sis?" _

_Sam's voice was starting to sound a little thick – it took Jenna a few tries, but she finally managed to work past the emotion that threatened to steal her own voice away. "Alright." She said softly. "I love you, Sam. So much." _

"_I love you, too." She told him. "I'll see you - " _

Jenna was abruptly jerked out her dream about one the last conversations she'd had with her older brother when a sudden, resonating _BOOM _thundered through the air. The fog of sleep immediately cleared from her head and she was wide awake and on her feet in a flash, blinking rapidly and trying to force her eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight overhead –_ what in the __**hell**_ _just happened?_

The ground was trembling underneath her feet as she started looking around in confusion, but it only took her a few seconds to spot the source of the commotion – there was a very dark, very large, and very daunting-looking mushroom cloud forming off in the distance, something that could only be the result of a very powerful and very deadly bomb.

Jenna brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and stared at it in disbelief, standing rooted to the spot as she watched the cloud grow and creep up into the sky. She remembered hearing about the bombings that had taken place all around the country while they were en route to Georgia, had even driven through the tattered remains of several major cities on her way in, so her first thought was that the military had come back through with another attempt to clean up the city. It sent a rush of excitement through her – what if it _was _the military? What if Sam was among them? And even if he wasn't, would there be a possibility they could take her to Fort Benning if she managed to get in contact with them?

But as the minutes crept by, Jenna's excitement quickly began to dissipate – no other explosions followed the first and there were no signs of any military presence anywhere nearby. With a frown of defeat, she decided it had to have been caused by something else.

Sounds of increasing activity below finally caught her attention. Jenna tore her eyes away from the sight of the ever-growing cloud and stepped up to the edge of the building to see what was happening on the streets down below – not so surprisingly, the commotion has roused the attention of every stumbling, bumbling zombie in sight and the undead were stating to appear from every direction. They came stepping out of stores, pouring in from alleyways, emerging from abandoned vehicles…the streets became so packed that in no time she felt like she was looking down on a Mardi Gras parade. She watched as they chompers attempted to locate the source of the noise, but since the explosion was so far off the majority of them just ended up just shifting around each other aimlessly and groaning with a hunger that wouldn't be satisfied.

_Well, so much for finding food, _Jenna thought to herself cynically.

Her plans to pack up and continue on in the direction of Highway-85 had now effectively been ruined for the second day in a row, this time by the impromptu blast. There were simply far too many walkers for her to handle on her own, especially considering how weak she was becoming due to lack of nutrition – Jenna knew she'd get swamped the second she left the safety of the roof if she attempted to get back to the truck she'd parked on the side of the store. She was stuck and she knew it.

Jenna stepped away from the edge of the building with a scowl and flopped ungracefully into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the dark cloud that was now the root of all her problems. There was nothing to do now that wouldn't end in disaster – the only option that _didn't_ have death written all over it is to wait it out and hope that the mongrels below would disperse once they forgot about the blast that had just rocked through Atlanta. And hopefully that would happen _sooner_ rather than later…

An hour turned into two, two then turned into three, and before Jenna knew it the sun had travelled high into the afternoon sky. There were still dozens of walkers littering the streets but their numbers had lessened some thanks to a fairly large group that had broken off some time ago and went moseying in the direction of downtown.

After some serious debating, she finally decided that she couldn't afford to wait around any longer. If Jenna left now she'd be able to get out of the city and make it to the 85 before dark, where she could make camp for the night and then take the next morning to try her hand at hunting – as long as she could find a way to distract the chompers still hanging around, Jenna would be able to book it to the truck and get the hell out of there.

She eyed the streets below her, surveying the surrounding area as she tried to come up with a plan, before she finally turned to start packing up her things. Her food, her camping chair, her supplies, it's all packed up in record timing and set by the ladder she'd used to get onto the roof before she begins inspecting the roof for anything that could be useful. There were only some loose chunks of concrete lying around and a few pieces of old, rusty rebar.

_This'll have to do_, Jenna thought to herself before starting to collect her new ammunition; she quickly rounded up a few sizeable chunks of concrete and piled them up by the edge of the building furthest away from both her truck and the walkers loitering on the road. Then Jenna took a peek over the side building, peering down into the street below, and quickly decided that the fancy looking car parked across the street was probably going to be her best target.

Jenna groaned a little as she hauled up a large chunk of concrete and, with a mighty effort, lobbed it at the car. She cursed when the concrete fell a few feet short of the car, but the sound of the concrete landing and breaking on the street _did_ manage to catch the attention of a few nearby monsters. While a few zombies went to inspect the source of the new noise, Jenna grabbed another piece of concrete and threw it harder – this time the chunk landed squarely on the hood of the car with a loud _BANG. _When she finally snatched up a piece of rebar and chucked it, it shattered the windshield – as Jenna had hoped would happen, the silence of the street was suddenly broken up by the car's loud, wailing alarm.

With a smile of triumph, Jenna watched as the walkers in the area started to amble hungrily towards the screaming car. But now wasn't the time to celebrate her success – now it was time to move.

She turned and hurried back to the ladder, quickly slinging her bag of supplies and her camping chair over her shoulder, then didn't hesitate to pull herself up onto the ladder so she could begin the trek down.

It was about a twenty-foot descent back to the truck, and as Jenna started hastily making her way down the ladder her heart started hammering anxiously against her ribs. She knew she had to hurry because it would only take the attention of one walker to attract the rest, so she willed herself to move as fast as she could without slipping and falling. But her quick movements were making the bag on her shoulder sway wildly, and when it suddenly swung forward connected _hard _with the ladder, Jenna cringed – maybe it was just because she was in an alleyway or maybe it was because of her own fear, but the _CLANG _of her metal tools on the metal ladder seemed more magnified than usual and immediately had her both freezing and praying that the sound wouldn't drawn any attention.

She wasn't that lucky – a few walkers that had been stumbling past the entrance to the alleyway had heard it and paused, their heads turning curiously in her direction.

"Shit." Jenna cursed aloud as they began growling and heading towards her.

A quick glance downward showed her that she was only about ten feet away from the truck parked down below so she quickly began to scramble downward again, hoping all the while that she could make it into the vehicle before the chompers wandered too close.

As soon as she dropped down into the bed of the truck with a hollow _boom,_ Jenna pulled out the handgun tucked into the waistband of her pants and aimed it at the two walkers. They were are all but running now and, for a moment, she strongly considered taking both of them out – when she realized that they'd drawn the attention of some of their friends, however, she nixed the plan and hopped over the side to hurry into the driver's seat, throwing her thing carelessly to the floorboard of the passenger side before getting in and securely locking the door behind her.

Within seconds the walkers had reached the truck and were banging on the window right next to her head, making her jump in fright; the gruesome things were groaning with hunger and clawing at the windows, and the ruckus they were stirring up was only drawing more attention. Jenna gulped, praying to everything holy that the windows wouldn't shatter under their insistent banging, then finally pulled the keys from her pocket and shoved them into the ignition. As the truck roared to life she didn't waste even a second – Jenna moved the shifter into reverse and slammed her foot on the gas, turning at least four undead bastards that had journeyed into the alleyway into speed bumps when she backed over them, before she went careening out into the street.

Jenna instantly knew she was in trouble.

The alarm of the car was still echoing off the nearby buildings, but the hoard around her now seemed far more interested in the large, black truck that had just made a less-than-subtle appearance. And even though Jon's truck had been decked out to withstand walkers, Jenna had seen plenty of people in vehicles just as large as hers get swarmed and wind up turning into a human buffet when the sheer mass of the determined, attacking chompers was too much to withstand.

Within moment her truck was surrounded. As the mob of zombies began climbing onto the hood and into the bed, she suddenly didn't care _what_ direction she was headed in, she just needed to get the hell out of there and _fast._ Jenna had just moved the shifter into drive when the passenger window suddenly shattered under the pressure of the numerous, pounding hands of the walkers. She cursed as glass flew at her and immediately slammed on the gas again, cringing when she mowed right over those standing at the hood and ended up with blood spattered all over the windshield.

The wipers manage to swipe away most of the blood but her vision of the road was still poor. Remnants of the reddish-black ooze clouded up the glass while a walker that somehow managed to get up on the hood was right in her line of vision, grappling at the glass and baring its decaying teeth at her. Jenna slammed on the brakes to throw it off, smiling in satisfaction when it went flying through the air, but the sudden halt created an entirely new, unexpected problem – the mongrels that had climbed into the bed were also thrown and came soaring into the back window, busting right through the glass.

Jenna shielded her face as shards of glass went flying in every direction. One of the zombies had landed in the backseat while the others were already starting to crawl through, unaffected by the fact that they'd just crashed through a window. Within seconds she could feel numerous hands starting to paw at her shoulders and she snatched up her pistol in the blink of an eye, turning it on the walkers behind her.

_BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG._

Once the immediate threat was gone and the walkers both on and in her truck had been taken care of, Jenna took a moment to catch her breath and tried not to gag when she realized she was covered in blood again. But her relief at having survived the first waves of attack ended up being short lived as soon as she took a look out the window.

"You have _got _to be fucking kidding me…"

Someone might as well have rung a damned dinner bell.

Between the massive explosion earlier and the commotion she'd stirred up in her conspicuous escape attempt, it seemed as though every zombie in Atlanta had taken to the streets in search of an impending meal. There were dozens upon dozens of them now, and no matter which direction she looked there was a labyrinth of undead corpses laid out before her. Jenna cursed under her breath and craned her neck to try and figure out which would be the best escape route; since she couldn't risk barging through anymore large groups – at least, not with two of her windows busted out – she finally chose the road that looked least occupied and tore off in that direction.

The past few moments had been so chaotic that Jenna wasn't even sure if the blood on her arms and clothes belonged to her, to the zombies, or a little bit of both. There was a stinging cut on her cheek that could have either been from the showering of glass or from the walkers, but there wasn't any time to worry about it right then, let alone stop to inspect it. The carcasses in the truck were absolutely assaulting her senses with their grotesqueness but she kept pushing forward, weaving the truck in and out of the walkers that futilely made a grab for it as she went roaring past. She turned on a side road, heading away from the thick of the monsters, and finally began to relax in her seat when she caught sight of a clear looking road up ahead – Jenna glance in the review mirror to see if she was being followed, which she was, and pulled a face when she saw the dead walkers still dangling through her back window.

Now, had she been looking forward and paying attention to where she was going instead of worrying about what was behind her, she might've seen the caravan of cars that had just started to make their way past the entrance of the alley – when she finally turned her eyes back to the road, convinced that she'd just escaped the clutches of death (or zombiedom), Jenna realized with a start that she was only seconds away from side-swiping a very large RV.

"Shit!"

Jenna slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel _hard_ to the right, making the large truck skid and circle around as she tried to avoid hitting the RV. A pick-up that had been at the end of the caravan quickly swerved out of the way before the tail end of the truck could clip it, and in her panic Jenna jerked the wheel back in the opposite direction, trying to get a handle on the truck again – she failed miserably; the truck was simply going too fast and was too large for her to regain control of it. The world became nothing but a blur of color as the truck spun around wildly, and, after what felt like an eternity, she finally went slamming in the side of a building and came to an abrupt, unceremonious halt.

Pain erupted everywhere – her head, her shoulder, her neck…distantly she could hear the sounds of car doors opening and closing and angry-slash-surprised curses filling the air, but in her disoriented state she could only sit there and groan in pain. The smell of smoke and burnt rubber broke through the putrid scent of the dead carcasses adorning her truck and she was mildly aware of the fact that she should probably be trying to get out of the vehicle before it caught on fire, or worse, but her limbs felt as heavy as lead – Jenna could barely find the strength to raise a shaky hand up to her head, let alone climb out of the wrecked truck.

" – the hell was that?"

" – they alright?!"

" – the same truck we saw a few days ago?"

The voices were drawing closer, as were the sounds of numerous approaching footsteps, until the passenger door was yanked open a few short moments later – to Jenna's immense surprise, a familiar voice reaches her ears. "Jenna?" The voice questioned in complete surprise. "Shit, _Jenna_!"

Some of the fog clouding her head started to clear away and she finally managed to turn her head so she could see who was addressing her. When her eyes landed on Rick Grimes, she couldn't have possibly felt _more_ surprised unless the zombies she'd just escaped from came running out to greet them with food and good tidings, then proceeded to announce that all of this had been one very long and very elaborate prank and that they were, in fact, still human.

"Deputy Do-Right, we meet again." The greeting words slipped out without her really even realizing it. "Come here often?"

Rick's frown was immediate. "She's disoriented." He stated obviously.

While Jenna closed her eyes and tried to fight through the pain coursing through her body, a snort followed Rick's statement. "See them geeks in there? She's probably _bit_." She knew that voice and that accent – it was Daryl.

"Help me out." Rick immediately says to Daryl.

In Jenna's disoriented state she was only vaguely aware of the fact that Rick had climbed into the truck and locked his hands underneath her armpits. But the moment he started tugging her out the driver's seat, the world was suddenly thrown back into sharp clarity –though he was trying to be gentle, the movements aggravated whatever injuries she'd sustained from the crash and had her crashing back to reality as she cried out in pain. Once Rick had finally gotten her to the passenger seat, another pair of hands that she could only assume belonged to Daryl wrapped around her legs to help carry her. A few seconds later she was out of the truck and being gingerly set down on the street.

Rick's face was hovering over hers in an instant. "Are you bit?" He asked worriedly, his eyes sweeping over Jenna's form for signs of injury. "Are ya scratched?"

Jenna winced and shook her head. "I don't…don't think so." She managed out through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure?" Another, unfamiliar voice asked from somewhere to her left.

Jenna briefly raised her eyes to look at the elderly man that had just spoken to her. "No." She answered truthfully. The grey-haired, grey-bearded man looked concerned, though whether it was for his own safety or hers she wasn't really all that sure.

"What happened?" Rick asked, drawing her attention to him again.

Jenna was instantly and vividly reminded of the hasty retreat she'd just had to make. She started to sit up slowly, allowing Rick to help her as she cast a wary look in the direction she'd just come from. "Chompers…tons of them." She said through heavy breaths. "And – "

"Whaddya mean _tons_?" Daryl interrupted sharply.

Jenna turned her eyes over to Daryl, who had his crossbow in hand and a very alarmed expression on his face. "Meaning a whole _shit_ load." Jenna clarified, hoping that would help them grasp the severity of the situation. "And they're headed right this way."

Rick seemed to make up his mind in an instant. "We better get the hell outta here then." He said before taking hold of her right arm and draping it around his shoulders, obviously about to cart her off in the direction of their caravan.

"Rick, are you sure – " Yet another voice begins to question uncertainly.

"What if she's bit?" A female voice asked next. "What if – "

"Daryl, get 'er other arm." Rick instructed, ignoring any arguments or statements being directed at him.

Daryl didn't look very thrilled to do so but moved to Jenna's side anyway. As soon as he started to lift her other arm, however, she let out another cry of pain – he immediately stopped moving her arm and started prodding at her shoulder with less-than-gentle fingers, making her cringe in pain. "Shoulder's dislocated." He quickly determined.

And before she could realize what he was about to do, Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder, grabbed her arm, then jerked her shoulder back into place with a firm yank. Jenna screamed in pain, her fist tightened on Rick's shirt, and she sent every curse word imaginable in Daryl's direction – if her arm hadn't already been around Rick's shoulder, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have punched Daryl right in the face. He seemed unaffected by the amount of names she was calling him, though, and wordlessly draped her arm around his shoulders, ignoring her protests when the move caused her already tender shoulder even more discomfort. Then they started off in the direction of the caravan.

"Take her to my RV." The elderly man instructed as he hurried to walk in front of them, leading the group back to the caravan. "I've got plenty of room."

The thought of leaving behind Jon's truck, as well as all the supplies she'd accumulated over the past few months, didn't sit well with Jenna at all. "My supplies, my weapons – " She started to protest.

"_Walkers_!"

The cry made her fall silent and had everyone turning wide, frightened eyes towards the alley – the zombies had managed to figure out which direction Jenna gone and were now appearing left and right, flooding into the street. Daryl cursed loudly as he and Rick quickened the pace, forcing Jenna along faster, while the rest of the group that had been standing around and watching the scene unfold began scrambling back into their cars.

"Hurry!" The elderly man urged as he took off running for the RV.

"No time!" Daryl called back before jerking his head towards the pick-up. "Head fer the truck!" He then shouted to Rick.

"Rick! _Rick_!" A woman started shouting from one of the cars at the head of the line.

"Lori, go!" Rick called back. "We'll catch up!"

The street was filled with the sounds of approaching walkers, slamming car doors, and engines starting up as the Jenna, Daryl, and Rick covered the short distance to the pickup that she'd nearly clipped in the crash. While the rest of the caravan began to pull away and make their escape Jenna was practically thrown inside what she could only assume was Daryl's truck. She watched, feeling completely and utterly useless, as Daryl took out a few of walkers that had gotten too close and laid out cover fire for Rick as he hurried around the front of the truck and made for the passenger side door. Rick produced a pistol once he was at the door, shooting a walker square between the eyes, before sliding into the truck next to Jenna and slamming the door shut.

"C'mon, Daryl!"

Daryl immediately turned and got in, securely shutting the door behind him and carelessly tossing his crossbow into Jenna's lap. Then he was starting the truck up and pulling away, running over an unfortunate corpse that had stepped into their path as they went speeding off to catch up with the rest of the convoy.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to those who have alerted/favorited/reviewed the story! To lunasky99 – I don't even wanna try to come up with a word for that incredible description, because it was WAY too awesome! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue, just read and enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 3_

To say that being squeezed between Daryl and Rick in the cab of a not-so-big truck was awkward would have been an understatement. Jenna was weaponless, in quite a bit of pain, and feeling a little faint after smacking her head during the crash, which left her feeling very vulnerable. Then of course there was the fact that both men continued to glance over at her with blatant apprehension, obviously worried that she had been bitten and was about to turn; their scrutiny only proved to make her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

"I think I'm fine." Jenna finally said after she caught Rick studying her for what had to be the hundredth time in the past five minutes. "Ya'll don't have to keep looking at me like I'm gonna start gnawing on your limbs." Then she smirked over at Rick, who only looked slightly guilty for regarding her like she was a wild animal. "I'm hungry…but not _that _hungry."

Rick relaxed, cracked a tiny smile, then shook his head before turning his eyes back to the road ahead – he looked around alertly, as though checking to make sure there was nothing else around that was about to surprise them. "I'd've thought you'd be long gone by now." He said in his thick, Georgian accent.

Jenna huffed a little. "Yeah, you and me both." She answered disdainfully before raising her eyebrows at him "But as you might've already guessed, I hit a few bumps in the road."

"I'd say so." Rick agreed before shaking his head to himself. "This sure is turnin' out to be a strange day…" He commented.

Jenna let out an un-ladylike snort and nodded her head in agreement – while escaping the clutches of a bunch of walkers wasn't all that uncommon, running into Rick and his group again certainly had been a surprise. She had to wonder if this was some sort of sign, or maybe even divine intervention. "Ya'll see that blast earlier today?" She asked inquiringly, curious to find out if they knew anything about it.

Rick and Daryl shared a look over her head. "Yeah…" Rick said slowly. "We saw it." But before Jenna could ask them anything else about it, he changed the subject. "We'll get ya some fresh clothes once we stop for the night." Rick continued, quirking an eyebrow as he eyed the significant amount of blood decorating her body and clothes. "Feed ya, too – ya look like you'd blow right over if the wind was strong enough."

Jenna could only stare at him in surprise, completely taken aback by his more than generous offer. Food was more valuable than any jewel or form of currency nowadays and wasn't always easy to hang on to, especially amongst a group as large as the one she was currently travelling with. And then there was the fact that he could have _easily_ put the safety of his group (and his family) ahead of hers and left her to fend for herself against the swarm of walkers, but he'd made sure to get Jenna out of harm's way – why would he risk his life and willingly offer up precious resources for _her_, a complete stranger?

"Why are you helping me?" She blurted out in complete confusion.

Rick frowned for a moment as his eyebrows furrowed together. "This world's a rough place to live in as is – what kinda hope is there for mankind if we don't help each other out?"

After everything she'd gone through since the world went to hell, the cynicism that dominated the majority of her being nearly had her pointing out how foolish that notion probably was – Rick might be a decent man, but unfortunately the same couldn't be said for everyone; there were a lot of bad people out there that wouldn't think twice about sacrificing another to get what they needed. Yet as she mulled over his words a little more, the tiny, optimistic part of her that she had barely managed to hold on to actually started to feel a little encouraged by what he'd just said. Maybe, just _maybe, _she had been wrong – perhapsif there _were_ more people like Rick Grimes in the world then humanity wasn't a lost cause after all.

For the first time in a _long _time Jenna felt something other than negativity and bitterness as a small, grateful smile worked its way onto her face. "Thank you, Rick." She told him, her tone and expression nothing but sincere. "And thank you for saving my ass, too."

Rick nodded and half-smiled at her. "You're welcome, Jenna." Then he glanced down at her cheek before shifting his eyes to the road again. "There's glass in your face."

She didn't know why, but that made her laugh a little bit – seeing as it had been a very long time since Jenna had found something humorous, the sound was strange and foreign to her. "Guess its better than a walker's fingernail or something." She joked before shifting her attention to Daryl, who'd been quiet for the duration of the ride so far. "Wouldn't happen to have a rag on hand, would you?"

Daryl glanced at her out of the corner of his eye then shifted around in his seat so he could reach underneath him and produce a questionable looking handkerchief. Jenna must have pulled a face without realizing it when he handed it over, because he shook his head with a huff and grumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite understand. Choosing to ignore him, Jenna moved the rearview mirror so she could get a better look at herself – Daryl immediately quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I expect that put back how it was." He stated matter-of-factly.

Jenna paused and met his challenging stare with raised eyebrows. "Why? So you can keep an eye on all the other drivers?" She asked sarcastically, motioning towards the road that would have been otherwise deserted if their caravan wasn't driving through.

Daryl definitely didn't like her retort. "Or'ta keep an eye out fer geeks the _next_ time we have'ta risk our asses fer some idiot." He retorted snippily.

It had become glaringly obvious by now that Daryl had a bit of an anger issue, seeing as the two times they'd met he'd been a bit hostile and had nothing but insulting things to say. She glanced over at Rick, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head, before focusing on Daryl again and letting out a low whistle. "Well aren't _you _just a ray of sunshine…"

Though she thought she heard Rick snicker a bit to himself, the comment made Daryl scowl at Jenna in annoyance. She stared back at him for another second before shifting her attention to the mirror, trying not to cringe when she saw her own reflection – beyond dirty copper-colored hair that hung to the middle of her back and hadn't been washed in God knows how long, seemingly-permanent bags underneath once lively blue eyes, grimy, formerly-pale skin that had darkened some from constantly being outside and was currently covered with blood; one whole side of her face was literally caked over in blood. No wonder Rick and Daryl had been eyeing her so warily – she looked as disgusting as a damn walker.

_Lovely, _she thought to herself sarcastically before trying to locate the glass Rick had been talking about. Sure enough there was a shard about a half-inch thick imbedded in her right cheek, and she heaved before plucking it out and bringing the handkerchief up to begin wiping away the blood that was on her face.

Though she was safe from walkers and not currently feeling any threat from Rick or Daryl (well, mostly – Daryl still kept looking at her like she was an insect he'd love to stomp on), the further away they drove the more insecure she was starting to feel with the situation at hand. That morning she'd had weapons, some provisions, and transportation – now she was empty handed, her truck was wrecked, and she felt as though she was right back to square one. Jenna didn't know what Rick's intentions were – if this was just temporary or if he planned to try and integrate her into the group, nor if she'd even _accept _should the offer be presented – but she _did_ know that she refused to leave the truck and everything in it abandoned in some nameless town.

"I'll need to go back for my truck." She stated to break the silence that had fallen over the trio.

"To hell with that." Daryl immediately scoffed. "Place is crawlin' with geeks."

"There's supplies and weapons inside the truck." Jenna countered pointedly, narrowing her eyes at him. "I can't just leave all that behind."

"You were just in a pretty bad wreck, Jenna." Rick reasoned with her, making Jenna look over at him. "Why don't you take it easy for now – we'll figure everything out later, alright?" He suggested, though it sounded more like a command than a request.

Jenna thought his suggestion over for a moment, then begrudgingly agreed. "Alright." She said in resignation – Rick seemed pleased with her response. Jenna then finished cleaning her face and tossed Daryl's handkerchief back to him. "Thanks for the rag."

Daryl caught it but then deposited it right back in her lap. "Feel free'ta clean that." He ordered, never taking his eyes off the road.

After another twenty minutes or so, the convoy finally pulled into a small, urban looking neighborhood and came to a halt next to an old soccer field that was already grown over with tall grass and unkempt foliage – there were a number of quaint houses and plenty of abandoned cars scattered around the area, but, to her relief, there didn't seem to be any walkers loitering around. Still, Jenna knew there could be any number of monsters hanging around in the surrounding houses and felt a little disturbed with her lack of weaponry; if trouble _did _come along, she wouldn't have anything to fight with.

She glanced down at the crossbow in her lap and considered taking one of the arrows, just so she could have _something _to fight with if the need arose, but Daryl saw her eyeballing his weapon and snatched it up before she had the chance to do anything.

"Don't even think about it, red." He said with a sneer. Then he and Rick were getting out of the truck and heading over to reconvene with the others, who had all begun to emerge from their respective vehicles.

Jenna hesitated for a moment or two, uncertain as to how she was going to be received by the rest of the gang, before finally sliding out of the truck and trailing after Rick and Daryl. When she slowly stepped up to join everyone else, hanging back just a little so she would draw too much attention from Rick (who was addressing the group), the numerous, curious stares that turned on her immediately had Jenna feeling self-conscious – she wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to show how uncomfortable their scrutiny was making her feel.

"We'll camp here for now, maybe clear out one'a these houses to sleep in." Rick said to the group before eyeing the nearby homes. "Tomorrow we'll search around for supplies and siphon whatever fuel we can outta these cars." When he realized that most of the group's attention was on Jenna rather than on what he was saying, he turned and motioned for her to step closer. "Everyone this is Jenna." He introduced, placing a hand on her shoulder once she was by his side. "She'll be bunkin' with us for the time being."

Jenna waved once in greeting, feeling like an exhibit in a museum as everyone stared at her. A few nodded to her in greeting, but most were still doubtfully regarding her bloodied up appearance – the only two children present, a young boy and girl, both looked a little frightened and moved closer to their respective mothers.

"She's alright then?" Asked the one she remembered to be named Glenn.

"So far so good." Rick vouched for Jenna at once. Then he changed the subject, probably so they would stop staring at her. "Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn – you guys check out the houses over there, see if we can't find us some supplies and a place for everyone to sleep." He instructed, pointing to some houses to the right – then he gestured towards a few houses on the left. "Shane and I will check out these over here." The men all nodded in understanding. "Everyone else – start gettin' ready to settle in."

While the gang dutifully started breaking off to go about their business, Rick patted Jenna on the back and then stepped over to a dark-haired woman to have a quick, hushed conversation with her. The woman watched Jenna over his shoulder while they spoke and nodded in response to whatever he was saying – they shared a quick kiss once their conversation was over before Rick followed after the rest of the men, then the woman started in Jenna's direction.

"Hi, I'm Lori Grimes – Rick's wife." She introduced herself, extending a hand towards Jenna.

"Jenna Matthews." The redhead responded, attempting to wipe her dirty hand clean on her pant leg before shaking Lori's hand for a quick second.

"I'm pretty sure I've got some clothes that'll fit you." Lori said, giving Jenna a quick once over. "And I think we can spare a little water and soap so you can get yourself cleaned up – sound like a plan?"

Jenna couldn't even remember the last time that soap had touched her skin – the thought of being clean damn near had her foaming at the mouth. "Sounds like the best thing I've ever heard." She told Lori earnestly, not even caring if she sounded pathetic.

Lori smiled sympathetically then jerked her head to the side, motioning in the direction of her car. "Follow me."

* * *

By the time the sun was starting to go down a few hours later, the men had managed to secure a house for the group to rest in, a small bonfire had been made outside, and Daryl and Shane had gone off in search of food – if it weren't for the fact that Glenn and T-Dog were armed and standing on guard, they might have looked like they were just a regular group of people on a camping trip.

Though the others settled into the new campsite with ease – this all seemed fairly routine to the group of survivors that Jenna had joined – it felt a little strange where _she_ was concerned. For the first time in a month she wasn't on her own, and as she stood in the bathroom and finished washing up, she could hear the others moving around in the house and chatting conversationally with one another. Oddly enough, it was actually kind of…_comforting_. Being with other people and listening to their conversations felt like the first normal thing she'd done in months. And even though she'd strictly denied herself any form of company since embarking on this journey single-handedly, Jenna found herself reveling in this new setup. If something went wrong, she'd have others there to help her. If she wanted to talk to someone, all she'd have to do was step into the other room.

It felt…liberating.

Jenna took her sweet time washing up, wanting to be thorough and get herself as clean as possible since she didn't know when she'd get a chance to bathe again, and once she was completely clean for the first time in as long as she could remember and was wearing a fresh set of clothes, she felt more like herself than she had in weeks. The woman she saw when she looked in the mirror didn't look quite as unfamiliar, didn't seem like a stranger anymore – Jenna actually felt as though she was seeing _herself. _And as silly as it might seem, the happiness and relief she felt knowing that the _real _Jenna Matthews still existed suddenly left her fighting the urge to cry.

Jenna finally pulled herself together when two knocks sounded on the door. "Jenna, are you alright in there?" Lori's voice sounded through the door – she sounded a little concerned.

"Yeah." Jenna responded thickly, wiping underneath her eyes for a quick second to get rid of any errant tears before opening the door. Jenna was fairly certain that Lori noticed how watery her eyes were, but thankfully the woman didn't comment on it. "Just finished up." Jenna told her with a small smile, wringing out some of the excess moisture from her damp hair in the sink.

Lori smiled and crossed her arms, giving Jenna another once over but this time with a much more approving look on her face. "I see the clothes fit." She observed.

Jenna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they fit perfectly – thank you." Then she laughed softly and tugged at the bra-strap sticking out from underneath the tank-top Lori had given her. "No offense, but I'm a little depressed I fit into this bra." She said jokingly to try and lighten her own mood. "A few months ago I would have been busting out of it."

Lori chuckled. "None taken. I know I'm not packin' much heat." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "C'mon, the guys just got back. Dinner'll be ready soon." Jenna nodded, her stomach rumbling impatiently at the prospect of a decent meal, and started to gather up her soiled clothes – Lori stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Leave it. Carol and I will take care of it."

"You sure?" Lori nodded and then placed a hand on Jenna's back, leading her out of the bathroom. Once again the generosity of this group blew Jenna away and she gratefully smiled at her new companion. "Thank you…for everything. You have no idea how nice it is to meet people that actually wanna help." She said, hoping Lori understood just how thankful she really was.

"No problem – we're glad to help." Lori said with a smile – then she quirked a knowing eyebrow at Jenna. "Rick told me about you, ya know." She continued, catching Jenna a little off guard.

"Oh yeah?" Jenna asked with raised eyebrows – she smiled in greeting at the woman named Carol when they passed her in the hallway. The short-haired woman returned it quickly before ducking into the bathroom.

Lori nodded again in confirmation. "Said he met some 'stubborn redhead' that was hell-bent on resisting his every attempt to help." She said, making Jenna blush a little bit – now that she knew the group was friendly she felt a little silly for being so difficult. "It really ate him up, you know…letting you leave." Lori continued. "He said he couldn't stand the thought of someone facin' this world on their own, 'specially a young woman." She went on to explain. "If I know my husband as well as I think I do, then I'm sure he's happy we found you…even if you _did _almost give poor Dale a heart-attack."

Jenna and Lori had reached the living room by now – the blonde-haired woman named Andrea was napping on the couch while Carl and Sophia, the two children, were coloring in books on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Jenna could see the guys moving around in the yard when she glanced out the front window and she had to smile when her eyes landed on Rick – he was pouring over a map with the man named Shane and the elderly man who'd introduced himself as Dale, the expression on his face all business.

"You have a good man there." Jenna complimented. "It takes a lot to earn my trust these days but Rick's well on his way." She then admitted.

Lori smiled proudly, clearly pleased with Jenna's praising words. "He _is_ a good man…a _great _man."

As their conversation lulled for a few moments, Jenna realized that she had absolutely no idea what to do with herself now. Usually she was on the run or searching for supplies – having free time to do as she pleased was something she'd grown unaccustomed to. "Is there anything I can do to help out?" She asked Lori, drawing the woman out of her own thoughts.

Lori seemed to think on it for a second before nodding and motioning for Jenna to follow her outside. "I've got some blankets and pillows you can use to make a bed for yourself tonight. And I think we have a can or two of vegetables left that we can cook up to go with whatever the guys brought back – you can help me get that started if you want."

Jenna immediately frowned at her – she'd already put a little dent in their resources by using some of their water and soap for her sponge bath; she didn't want to use up the last of their canned goods as well. "I don't wanna use up _all_ ya'll's stuff…" She began to protest uncertainly.

"Don't be silly – this is a special night." Lori argued right back with a gentle smile. "We've had a rough couple days..." She continued, her expression turning a little more somber. "We lost some people." Jenna frowned at her sympathetically, knowing exactly how hard it was to lose people that you cared for – Lori shook her head after a second or two as though shaking away the memories of the past few days, then forced on a smile. "So actually _gaining _someone is a very nice change of pace and calls for a little celebration, I think."

Jenna nodded in understanding, knowing she wasn't going to convince Lori otherwise, and followed her towards the yellow car that housed some of her and Rick's belongings. The sky had turned a pretty yellow-orange color now that the sun was slowly sinking down into the horizon, and as a pleasant breeze filtered in she was glad for the respite from the blazing heat – the setting was so peaceful that Jenna almost found it hard to believe that she'd been running for her life a mere few hours ago.

While Dale stood atop the RV and kept a sharp eye on their surroundings, a few of the other guys were moving around the camp and getting ready for an evening of rest – she noticed that Daryl was already cooking something over the fire and he glanced up as she and Lori went past; his eyebrows shot up a little when he saw her, but the expression on his face quickly became unreadable and he almost instantly turned his eyes back down to what he was doing when their eyes met. Jenna eyed him for a moment, unable to help wondering what was going through his head, then turned her attention forward when someone stepped into her and Lori's path.

"Whoa." Glenn had been walking past but came to an abrupt halt when he spotted Jenna, taking a moment to look her over appraisingly. "You're much prettier than I thought you were." He blurted out.

Jenna couldn't help but smirk at him. "Is that right?" She asked, too amused to feel offended by his slightly-backwards comment.

When he realized what he'd said and how bad it had sounded, Glenn flushed bright red. His embarrassment wasn't helped by the fact that Lori was snickering in amusement. "I didn't mean it like that." He quickly recovered, waving his hands wildly. "It's just that I've never seen you without blood all over you, so you always looked kinda gross…" Jenna's smirk grew as Glenn's eyes widened. "Not that _you're_ gross!" He practically shouted in a vain attempt to rectify his second flop. "What I'm trying to say is that you're _very pretty _– I'd _totally _hit that_._"

Lori finally decided to speak up, probably so Glenn wouldn't embarrass himself any further. "Glenn, just walk away." She suggested with a motherly pat to his shoulder.

"Good idea." He said with a nod before quickly scampering away, not daring to take another look behind him.

Jenna couldn't help but laugh at Glenn's behavior as she shot a look at Lori. "Does he always put his foot in his mouth?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She confirmed with a nod. "But I guess even more so around attractive girls."

For reasons unknown, the interaction suddenly had Jenna remembering a night when she, Jon, and Bill had been holed up in a small boutique somewhere in Mississippi. It was one of the last personal moments that she had shared with Jon before trouble found their group...

OOO

_Jenna frowned as she eyed herself in the mirror, plucking at her dirty clothes with distaste before leaning even closer to get a better look at her reflection and running a hand through her tangled hair_. "_God, I look awful." She said when she saw through the mirror that Jon was standing behind her and watching her inspect herself. "How can you even stand the sight of me?" _

_Jon just smiled and moved closer so that he could wrap his long arms around her waist from behind. He then dropped a kiss onto her shoulder, eyes turning up so he could meet her gaze in the mirror. "What're you talking about?" He asked, that same loving smile that he always reserved for her reappearing on his handsome face._ "_You'll always be beautiful to me no matter what."_

_Jenna smiled gratefully and then leaned back into his embrace, sighing when he tightened his hold on her and kissed her temple before resting his chin on her shoulder..._

OOO

It hadn't been that long since she'd lost him, so the pain this memory brought on was still palpable – the recollection zapped the humor right out of her but she valiantly fended off the frown that wanted to turn her lips downward, not wanting Lori to see that she was upset and start asking questions. "Funny guy." Jenna finally said about Glenn with a forced smile before continuing towards the car.

Lori seemed none-the-wiser of her momentary grief and started chatting away about nothing in particular as the two reached the car and started unpacking some things from the trunk. Jenna contributed to the conversation half-heartedly, still trying to push Jon's face out of her mind, but was only able to successfully do so when Rick came over to join them.

"You clean up nice." He complimented with a friendly smile. "Feel better?"

"Much." Jenna answered with a nod.

He looked happy to hear it. "So here's the plan – me, Shane, 'n Glenn are headin' back into town in the mornin' to search for extra supplies." He started explaining. "When we get back Daryl and T-Dog will take ya to get your truck. Then we'll leave for Fort Benning day after next."

Jenna's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're going to Fort Benning?" She asked.

"We are now." Rick confirmed. "Our last plan didn't exactly…work out." He explained, sharing a quick look with Lori – Jenna wanted to know what had happened but decided not to pry, assuming there was probably a good reason for why he _didn't _want to go into detail about it. "As long as ya don't mind a little extra company, seems only logical for us to head out together." Rick continued, focusing his attention on Jenna again. "We _are _goin' to the same place after all."

"I see." Jenna responded with a nod. Had Rick suggested such a thing a few days previous, she'd have flat out refused him. But seeing as his group had saved her life, given her shelter and clothing, was about to feed her, _and _was going to help her get her truck back, refusing their company seemed like a pretty foolish thing to do. Jenna had had doubts about parting with Rick the first time around – she had a feeling she'd sorely regret doing so a second time. "Company might be a nice change of pace." She finally said in agreement.

"Good, it's all settled then." He said before patting the top of the car and turning to leave. "Dinner'll be ready in ten." He called over his shoulder as an after thought before heading towards the house to tell the others.

Jenna stared after him, feeling a little befuddled – Rick had not only managed to start breaking through all of the barriers she'd built up in the past month, but he'd also gotten her to break one of her most important rules with hardly any effort; he seemed pretty pleased with himself too, because there was definitely a triumphant bounce in his step as he walked away. _How the hell did he do that? _Jenna wondered to herself, looking at Lori with raised eyebrows – the dark-haired woman just smirked knowingly and passed some blankets over to her.

"Welcome to the gang."

* * *

"How is it?' Dale asked with a wide grin on his face.

The sun had gone down by now and the group was huddled around the fire as they enjoyed a dinner of roasted squirrel, canned vegetables, and boiled water for drinking. It was the first substantial meal that Jenna had had in ages and it was so satisfying that it took almost all of her self-control _not_ to bury her face into her plate as though it were a pig trough. The others might not have found the dinner to be very special, but for Jenna it might as well have been a Thanksgiving feast – she'd barely been contributing to the easy conversation taking place around her in her eagerness to greedily consume the meal.

"So amazing." Jenna answered around a mouthful of food before leaning back in her chair and sighing reverentially, chewing slowly and savoring the meal.

Her behavior drew some chuckles from the group – well, at least from _most _of the group. Andrea, who had been eating her dinner in silence, didn't even crack a smile; neither did Daryl, who was close enough to enjoy the heat of the fire but not really sitting amongst the group.

"Must've been a while since ya had a decent meal, huh?" Carol asked curiously – Jenna nodded in confirmation. "How long?"

"Two weeks? Maybe three?" Jenna responded with a shrug. Not so surprisingly, her answer earned her a few surprised looks. "It's probably been longer though…I don't know, I guess I haven't really been keeping track of the time. Kinda hard to, you know?"

"Heard that." T-Dog agreed. "Time means nothin' in this place now." He added with a snort.

"I beg to differ." Dale countered good-naturedly.

"Yeah, yeah, you and your watch…" Lori commented with a small smile before focusing her attention on Jenna. "So I have'ta ask…" She said slowly, catching the redhead's interest. "How'd ya end up on your own, Jenna?"

A murmur of agreement passed through the group and many people nodded their heads, clearly just as curious as Lori. When they all looked to Jenna expectantly, though, obviously waiting to hear the grand tale, she hesitated and turned her eyes downward, picking at her food so she wouldn't have to meet anyone's gaze. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready to reveal all of the details of her story just yet, but only because she didn't want to relive all the bad memories of her trip from Texas to Georgia.

"It's kind of a long story…" Jenna stated vaguely, finally glancing around at the group a little.

"Trust me, we have time." Shane countered with a smirk.

Jenna looked at him for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "Correction – it's a _depressing _story." She clarified, making a few people frown. "And honestly…I just don't feel like being depressed today." Jenna continued with a small smile. "I have food in my belly, a safe place to sleep, I've made new friends, and, for once, I'm not covered in chomper blood." She explained, shooting a teasing wink in Glenn's direction with her last statement – he immediately blushed, clearly still embarrassed from earlier; Lori laughed at him from her place by the fire. "For the first time in a _long_ time, I can truly say that I'm happy tonight...and I wanna try to hang on to that for as long as I can."

Her words seemed to have affected the group, since just about everyone was now looking at her with small, approving smiles. "Hear, hear." Dale suddenly said before raising his glass of water in salute. "To happiness."

"To new friends." Jenna added, raising her own glass to him before taking a long drink.

Silence fell over the group for a moment until Rick spoke up. "Well, Jenna, I for one am happy you're here." He told her with a friendly smile. "No one should have'ta go through this world on their own."

Another murmur of agreement passed through the group, which, admittedly, left a warm feeling in Jenna's heart – she hadn't thought there were any welcoming or friendly people still left in this world, let alone that she would find them or that they would be so accepting of her. "Yeah?" She asked, remembering Lori's words from earlier. "Not even stubborn redheads?" She then shot at him jokingly.

Rick turned a look on his wife, who immediately put on an innocent expression before becoming very interested in her dinner. "Not even stubborn redheads." He said with a short laugh, which made a few more people chuckle as well.

"Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Dale suggested once the group had quieted again. "You don't have to say anything 'bout your ride in…but I'm curious to know more about you – where are you from?"

Having figured she'd probably be barraged with questions about herself since she was the new kid on the block, Jenna smiled and decided to answer without putting up a fuss about it. "I'm from a place called Friendswood. It's about a half hour outside of Houston, give or take a few minutes depending on traffic."

"Friendswood…" Dale repeated. "Sounds friendly."

"It wasn't bad." Jenna conceded with a shrug before taking another bite of her dinner.

Rick was the next one to speak up. "How old are you, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"I'll be twenty-seven in November."

He seemed surprised to hear it. "You look younger." He commented, which caused a few others in the group to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I've always been told I have a baby face." Jenna admitted with a short laugh. "Guess it'll come in handy later on in life, right?" She added with a shrug.

"And work?" Lori asked next. "What did you do for a living?"

"I worked in an orthopedic office." Jenna answered, which immediately made several of the people around her straighten up with interest – Jenna held a hand up and shook her head. "Don't get _too _excited." She warned, knowing what their reaction had meant. "I'm not a nurse or anything…I was just an x-ray tech."

"Yeah, but you still have more medical knowledge than any of us." Shane countered matter-of-factly. "I'm sure it still comes in handy every now and again, right?"

Jenna thought about it for a second then nodded her head with a small shrug. "Yeah, I guess."

"Were you married?" Carol suddenly asked, which made Jenna's eyebrows shoot up – the short-haired woman smiled and gestured towards Jenna's necklace before explaining herself. "I noticed the wedding ring, that's why I ask."

"Oh." Jenna said, her fingers unconsciously moving to toy with the ring hanging from her neck. "No, no, not married." She answered with a shake of her head. "This ring was my mom's." She added, a small, sad smile forming on her face before she dropped the ring and took another bite of food.

Carol nodded in understanding, a sympathetic smile on her lips. "So was that who you came here with?" Glenn asked curiously to catch Jenna's attention. "Your mom?"

"Glenn." Rick interjected sharply before Jenna could answer. "We're not talkin' about that tonight, 'member?" Glenn immediately looked shame-faced and flashed Jenna an apologetic look – she just offered a smile in response so he'd know she wasn't mad at him for asking. "I keep hearin' you say 'chompers'…" Rick continued to change the subject. "That what ya'll call 'em back in Texas?"

"Amongst other things." Jenna answered, happy he'd directed the conversation elsewhere. "Chompers, walkers, corpses, flesh-eating shitheads…" She trailed off while some of the men laughed, but cringed when she remembered there were children present – Jenna looked to Carl and Sophia, scrunching her nose up apologetically. "Sorry, forgot there were young ears listening." She immediately apologized.

"It's okay." Carl said in return. "I've heard worse."

Jenna snickered a bit, nodded her head, then took the last few bites of food remaining on her plate. Once she was done chewing she patted her stomach and sighed. "I am _stuffed._" She announced, much to the approval of the group – Jenna's eyes then flickered over to Daryl, whom she knew had been the one to catch and cook the squirrel she'd just eaten; even though they'd been butting heads since meeting she still smiled at him thankfully. "Thank you for dinner, Daryl." She told him, catching him a bit by surprise. "It was delicious."

A few others echoed her sentiments as he met Jenna's gaze for a brief moment. "Uh-huh." He grunted out with a nod before directing his attention back to his plate – Jenna had a feeling that was probably the best response she was going to get out of him.

She started to get up and find a way to wash her plate, but before she could make it very far Carol intercepted her and snatched the dish from her hand with a friendly smile. Jenna returned the smile gratefully but still got to her feet anyway to stretch – she winced at the twinge of pain in the shoulder Daryl had re-set but decided not to fret about it too much since she was ready to succumb to the food-coma creeping in on her and have a good night of sleep.

"Well, everyone, it's been a pleasure." Jenna said to catch everyone's attention. "But I think I'm gonna go ahead and hit the hay."

"It probably ain't a bad idea for _all_ of us to head off to bed." Rick said in response as he too stood from his seat. "We've got a pretty big couple days ahead of us and I want everyone nice 'n rested, so try'ta get a good night'a sleep, ya hear?" When the group voiced their agreement, he nodded in satisfaction. "I'll take first watch tonight, then Shane, then Glenn, then Daryl."

With that being said everyone began to stand and dispose of their dinner dishes, calling out goodnight's to each other as they ambled off towards their respective beds for the night. Jenna lingered behind for a few moments to express to Rick and Lori, yet again, how thankful she was, before turning to follow Andrea, Sophia, and Carl into the house – as she went past Daryl, who had moved a little closer to enjoy the fire now that he could have some solitude, her eyes unconsciously hopped over to him. To her surprise her gaze unexpectedly met his just before he quickly turned his eyes away. Since this was the second time this had happened that night Jenna almost wanted to call him out on it, but she decided not to in the end – it had been a good ending to a very interesting day and she didn't want to ruin it by getting into an argument with Daryl.

Her makeshift bed was in the corner of the living room and she wasted no time to kick off her shoes and fling herself down into it ungracefully, a content smile working its way onto her face as her body relaxed completely – she was actually going to sleep in clean blankets and on a fluffy pillow? Jenna was positive she'd died and gone to heaven.

"Goodnight, everyone." She heard Lori say when the woman entered the house.

Jenna opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, because within seconds she had fallen into the deepest, most relaxing sleep she'd had in a month.

* * *

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to those who review, I thrive off of feedback! And very glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! I have lots and lots and lots of ideas, so I can't wait to get even further into the story!**

**UPDATE - For those of you asking, no, I have NOT stopped writing my SOA story. I'm multi-tasking :D**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 4_

Jenna woke late the next morning to the sound of approaching footsteps – she was so used to being on her own that, at first, she momentarily forgot the fact that she was now with other people. The sound startled her awake and immediately had her on alert, fearful that the trudging footsteps belonged to a walker. But as Jenna grappled around for any form of a weapon, preparing to take out whatever thing was closing in on her, her eyes finally focused on the form of a very guilty looking Dale. She realized in an instant she wasn't in any danger and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Sorry." He said at once, holding his hands up in apology and eyeing her remorsefully. "I didn't mean to scare you."

It took a few seconds, but Jenna eventually managed to get her breathing under control again. "Don't worry about it." She told him with a shake of her head, despite the fact that her heart was still beating a mile a minute out of fear. Jenna reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, willing herself to calm down, before taking a look out the window. "What time is it?"

"Gettin' pretty late – it's almost noon." Dale answered.

"_Noon_?" Jenna asked with raised eyebrows. "Jesus, I don't even remember the last time I slept this late." She said with an astonished shake of her head.

"Well, we didn't wanna wake you." Dale responded with a smile and shrug. "You looked like you needed the sleep." Jenna nodded in understanding and smiled at him thankfully – now that she thought about it, she _did_ feel as though her energy had been replenished significantly. "There's some breakfast leftover with your name on it. And if you're a caffeine lover, there's a special cup of instant coffee I can whip up for you."

She didn't know what sounded better – the breakfast or the caffeine. "Coffee…" Jenna echoed wistfully, her mouth watering at the thought of a steaming hot cup of coffee; she hadn't thought it possible to get her hands on such a thing anymore. "Dale, you just may be my new best friend." She told the elderly man in complete seriousness.

Dale laughed and then reached a hand down to her. Jenna took it and allowed him to pull her up from her bed before she took a moment to stretch, wincing when her bones cracked and popped as a result to sleeping on the hard floor – her injured shoulder felt stiff and she hissed as she moved it, gingerly rubbing at the tender area and pulling a face at the slight pain that movement caused. Dale frowned in concern while she rotated it a couple of times to try and loosen it up some.

"Shoulder bothering you?" He asked worriedly.

"A little." Jenna admitted. "Daryl wasn't exactly gentle when he fixed it…"

Dale huffed and raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Right, well…Daryl Dixon can be described as many things, but 'gentle' _isn't_ one of them." He countered dryly.

Jenna smirked in amusement, not all that surprised to hear Dale's comment. "So that lovely attitude of his _isn't _reserved just for me, then?"

"Don't flatter yourself." Dale teased before nodding his head towards her shoulder. "Want me to see if I can fashion a sling for that shoulder?"

"Nah." Jenna declined with a shake of her head. "I'll be fine." She then reassured him. "You can point me in the direction of that breakfast, though."

"Alright then." Dale agreed before motioning for Jenna to follow him outside.

As soon as Jenna and Dale stepped out of the house and into the Georgia heat, Dale ushered her into one of the camping chairs stationed around the burned-out fire from the previous night before heading to the nearby RV, informing her that he'd return in a moment. Carl, Sophia, and Carol were already occupying some of the other chairs and she could see Lori over by her car, but everyone else in the group was out of Jenna's line of sight at the moment – Carol was busy stitching up some clothes but looked up to smile in greeting once Jenna was settled in next to her.

"Morning." Jenna said politely.

"_Afternoon_." Carol corrected. "Sleep well?"

"Better than I have in months." Jenna answered with a nod and a smile – then she looked around before pinning a curious look on Carol. "Where is everybody?"

"Andrea is in the RV, T-Dog and Daryl went to find some fuel, and Rick and the rest of the men are in town looking for supplies." She quickly explained. "They should be back sometime soon." Then she frowned over at Jenna apologetically. "Lori and I went looking around earlier to try and find a creek to do a bit of laundry, but unfortunately there was nothing around. We'll get your clothes cleaned up as soon as we can, though."

"Don't worry about it if it's too much trouble." Jenna urged, not wanting her and Lori to wind up getting themselves hurt just because they had gone out of their way for something as unimportant as her laundry. "I'm sure they're beyond salvaging by this point anyway."

"It's no trouble at all. We'll get it taken care of." Carol countered resolutely, leaving no room for argument.

Dale returned in the next moment with a bowl in one hand and a Styrofoam cup in the other. He handed the bowl to Jenna first – which was filled with what appeared to be a mystery stew of some sort – then placed the cup in the holder on the arm of her chair.

"Let that sit for a few minutes." He instructed, pointing to the cup. "It won't be hot and it certainly isn't Starbucks, but it'll do the trick." Then he glanced up at the sweltering hot sun before producing a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping at the sweat that had accumulated underneath the bill of his hat. "Actually, since its nine-_thousand _degrees outside right now the coffee mightbe hot after all…"

"Thank you." Jenna told him gratefully, wasting no time to start digging into her breakfast (which she quickly learned was a stew made from leftover squirrel).

"Coffee, huh?" Carol asked with interest, eyeing the cup by Jenna's arm. "Haven't seen you make _that_ in a while…"

"I thought the occasion called for it." Dale said as he dropped down into a seat across from the two women and propped his hunting rifle up against the chair next to him, making himself comfortable. "Consider it a present – my own way of telling Jenna 'welcome'."

Carol looked to the elderly man with what could only be described as an affectionate gleam in her eyes while Jenna inclined her head to him to show her appreciation. "Thank you for the present, then." She said graciously. "I couldn't imagine a better gift."

After that Jenna then fell into casual conversation with Carol and Dale while she ate her breakfast, with Carl jumping in here and there to make a remark or ask a question. After a while she finally noticed that Sophia was eyeing her and she directed her attention towards the young girl, looking to her curiously – the shy girl, who hadn't said very much to Jenna, quickly turned her gaze away when she noticed that she had caught the redhead's attention and began fiddling with the doll in her hands instead. But only a couple of seconds later Sophia glanced in Jenna's direction again, and that was when she realized that Sophia wasn't watching _her_, but rather staring at her bowl of food with a barely concealed look of hunger on her young face.

In an instant Jenna was filled with sympathy for the girl. Jenna herself had lost people she loved, had been on the brink of starvation more times than she could count, and had had to fight off walkers nearly every day for the past two months – it was hard enough to deal with circumstances such as these being an _adult_; she couldn't even imagine (and didn't particularly _want_ to imagine) what it must be like being forced to live in a world like this at such a young, tender age. She thought it downright cruel that Sophia and Carl had to endure such hardships and felt saddened by the realization that they would more than likely never know what it was like to lead a normal life or just be normal children.

Having come to a quick decision, Jenna took a few more bites of her breakfast before extending the bowl of stew towards Sophia – Sophia's eyes widened while the others stopped what they were doing to watch with raised eyebrows.

"Jenna, you don't – " Carol started to interrupt once she realized what Jenna was doing.

"Sophia, you think you can help me finish this off?" Jenna questioned the girl, ignoring Carol's interjection. "I'm still pretty stuffed from last night." She half-lied with a friendly smile.

It was pretty clear that Sophia wanted to accept the food, but she didn't immediately take the bowl from Jenna – for a long few moments she looked back and forth between Jenna, the bowl of food, and her mother with uncertain eyes. "Are…are you sure?" She finally asked in a meek voice.

"Mhmm, I'm one-hundred percent sure." Jenna confirmed with a nod of her head. Then she glanced at Carl, who was also watching them with rapt attention. "But only if you promise to share some with Carl, too."

A wide smile immediately stretched over Carl's young face while Sophia nodded her head vigorously. "I can do that." She readily agreed before looking to her mother with pleading eyes. "Mom? Is it okay?"

Carol looked a little hesitant to agree. "I guess if Jenna's offering…" She trailed off unsurely.

"Insisting, more like." Jenna corrected with an encouraging nod.

"Alright then." Carol finally consented – Sophia grinned widely and took the bowl from Jenna's hands before scooting closer to Carl, who looked equally excited at the prospect of eating more food. "What do you say, kids?" Carol asked them in a slightly stern, very motherly voice.

"Thank you, Jenna." The two said simultaneously before digging into their second helping of breakfast.

As Jenna relaxed in her seat and turned her attention over to Dale, she saw that he was watching her with an impressed look on his face – he grinned before nodding at Jenna in approval. Carol also had a small, grateful smile playing on her lips when she met her gaze next, but after a second the woman sighed and glanced towards her daughter. "Thank you, but you didn't have to do that." Carol told her, dropping her voice so that Sophia and Carl wouldn't hear her. "_You _need to eat, too, Jenna."

"I know, I know." Jenna conceded before waving a dismissive hand. "But the way I see it, _no _child should go hungry." She added, earning herself another approving nod from Dale. Then she picked up her cup of coffee and swished it around a few times before taking a sip – it was only warm-ish because of the heat of the sun and, admittedly, tasted pretty bland, but Jenna smacked her lips in appreciation regardless. "Nothing like a good cup of Joe." Jenna said, saluting Dale with her cup. "Many thanks."

By the time T-Dog and Daryl returned almost an hour later, Jenna had acquired two new shadows in the forms of Carl and Sophia – apparently her kind gesture had been more than enough to absolve any kind of wariness that the children had had of her and they ended up following her around the camp when she started doing anything she could to help prepare for the upcoming journey, appointing themselves as her helpers. Honestly, Jenna couldn't say that she minded the kids' company – Carl and Sophia were not only good kids, but they roped her into conversations about sports and games and movies that she had liked while growing up; talking about more innocent times and subjects instead of the apocalypse or the madness that came with it was rather refreshing.

"Got some fuel." T-Dog announced once he and Daryl had returned from their supply hunt and came strolling back into camp – they were both toting large containers of gasoline and a couple of weapons. "Should be enough to see us through for a while." He continued, before adding, "Rick and the others are on their way back, too. Saw 'em drivin' in before we headed back."

Daryl barely acknowledged Jenna as he went striding past to drop the tankards of fuel by the RV, but T-Dog stopped to offer her a smile and a large, aluminum baseball bat. "For me?" Jenna asked, taking the bat from him to inspect it for a second before raising an eyebrow at him in question.

T-Dog nodded. "Figured you might want somethin' to fend off those walkers when we get your truck." He explained with a shrug.

"Wait, what?" Carl asked when he heard that, his eyes immediately going wide. "_You're_ goin' back into town, too?" He asked Jenna incredulously, swinging his eyes up to her for answers.

"I kinda have to." Jenna told him with a shrug. "I have too many valuable things in that truck to leave it behind."

"But it's not safe." Sophia protested next, pouting and looking highly concerned. "You might get hurt!"

The kids' concern was touching and had Jenna smiling at them before she reached out to ruffle Sophia's hair first, then Carl's. "Don't worry." She reassured them with a small laugh. "I'll be protected – T-Dog and Daryl won't let anything happen to me, isn't that right, T-Dog?"

"You know it." T-Dog quickly confirmed with a nod.

The two kids shared an uncertain look but didn't protest any further. Instead, as Rick and the others come driving back into camp, Carl shot Jenna one last worried look before sighing and running off to greet his father – Sophia lingered behind, fiddling with the hem of her shirt for a second, before she suddenly wrapped her arms around Jenna's waist to hug her. Jenna's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected embrace and, as she patted the girl on the back, she turned surprised eyes on T-Dog – he looked just as awe-struck but still smirked a little.

"Be careful." Sophia said in a quiet voice, pulling back far enough to be able to look Jenna in the eye – after Jenna nodded at her, the girl released her and hurried off to where Carol was.

"Well, looks like ya got a couple'a fans in Carl and Sophia…" T-Dog commented as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Sophia dashed away.

"I guess so..." Jenna agreed, still a little taken-aback by Sophia's affectionate gesture, before she turned and looked around to see where Daryl had run off to – he was standing by his pick-up and readying the arrows for his crossbow; the motorcycle that had been in the bed had been unloaded already and was propped up a few feet away. "Any idea how to get back to my truck?" Jenna questioned T-Dog, quickly directing her attention back to the dark-skinned man when Daryl's eyes raised and met hers for a quick second.

"Yeah, Dale 'n Rick mapped it out for us." T-Dog informed her. "We'll be good."

Jenna nodded and glanced towards Shane's jeep, which was the vehicle Rick and the other had taken to go back into town – Shane and Glenn were unloading whatever they had found in the city but Rick was making his way over to where she and T-Dog were standing. There was both a large hunting rifle and a map in his hands.

"Nice bat." He complimented once he had come to a halt in front of them – he then looked to T-Dog questioningly. "Ya'll 'bout'ta head out?" After T-dog nodded in confirmation, Rick immediately extended the rifle towards Jenna. "Might wanna take this with ya, then." He suggested, urging her to take it.

She eyed the rifle unsurely. "Kinda conspicuous, don't you think?" Jenna asked in a doubtful tone.

"Yeah, but if ya get in'a bind ya may be glad ya have it." Rick countered knowingly.

Jenna pursed her lips for a second before shaking her head. "I'm kind of a shit shot with rifles." She admitted. "I'd probably do more damage than good."

"Alright then..." Rick conceded, slinging the rifle over his shoulder and reaching for his pistol instead. Jenna started to protest when he handed it over but he ignored her and shoved it into her hands anyway. "It's loaded 'n ready to go. Just make sure ya bring it back." He instructed. Then he handed the map over. "The route back to your truck is all mapped out – keep your eyes open 'n stay safe, ya hear?" Then with one last pat to her shoulder, Rick turned to walk away. "Better get goin' while there's still plenty'a daylight." He called as an afterthought over his shoulder before heading back towards Shane's jeep to help them unload supplies.

Jenna watched his retreating back for a second before looking up at T-Dog in exasperation. "Is he _always _that bossy?"

T-Dog snorted and nodded his head. "Yep, so might as well get used to it..."

* * *

Fifty-two minutes, three wrong turns, and one irritable Daryl later, the trio had finally made it back to the part of town that they had abandoned Jenna's truck in the day before. They'd arrived in Daryl's run down pick-up but had decided to park it a few blocks away so they could proceed on foot and sneak their way back to Jenna's truck by way of the relatively deserted side-roads and alleys, choosing to be discreet about their approach rather than driving in guns a'blazing since they had no idea how many walkers still lingered in the area.

As they turned down another alleyway, almost back to where they'd left the wrecked truck, Daryl looked at Jenna crossly. "Did I mention how fuckin' _stupid _this is?" He hissed, his crossbow armed and at the ready as he lead the way.

As a matter of fact, he _had _mentioned this – many, many, _many_ times.

"Hey, T-Dog?" Jenna asked, casting a look at the bald man over her shoulder. He was armed with a crowbar in one hand and an ax in the other, and only spared Jenna a quick glance before shifting his wary gaze back to their surroundings. "Are _you_ getting the impression that Daryl thinks this trip is stupid?" She inquired sarcastically. "Or is it just me?"

Jenna nearly crashed into Daryl's back when he came to a screeching halt and rounded on her with an angry scowl on his face. "You always have'ta be such a smartass?" He snapped.

Feeling just as irritated as him now and having grown tired of his temper-tantrums, Jenna returned his glare. "Do _you_ always have to bitch and complain?" She retorted with just as much attitude. "You haven't stopped whining since the minute we left camp – your attitude is starting to get _really _old."

"Listen, here." Daryl started warningly, taking a step towards her – Jenna squared her shoulders and jutted her chin up, meeting his challenge head on. "Ya been doin' nothin' but stirrin' up trouble since the minute we met you. Ya done pulled a gun on me, said anything 'n everything'ta piss me off, nearly rammed into our damn convoy, got us lost – " He started listing off, growing angrier and angrier by the second.

"I said that was an _accident._" Jenna interrupted pointedly, quickly remembering the argument they'd had in the truck on the way in after she'd accidently followed the wrong line on the map and sent them five miles in the wrong direction.

"And because of _you _I'm puttin' _my _ass on the line – _again_." Daryl continued as though she'd never interjected at all. "I got half a mind'ta _leave _yer fuckin' ass and if ya think I won't – "

"Well, if I'm _such _an inconvenience then why did you volunteer to bring me here?" Jenna interrupted again, quirking a challenging eyebrow at him.

"_I didn't_." Daryl growled in response.

They probably could've argued more – Lord knew Jenna had a thing or two she wanted to say to the hot-headed redneck who continued to grate on her nerves – but T-Dog took that moment to speak up. "Guys, is this _really _the time for this shit?" He asked in a hiss, making them both fall silent. "Look, I ain't 'bout to get my ass eaten 'cause you two are gripin' at each other – if ya don't cut it out and wait 'til we're back at camp to bite each other's heads off, I'm gonna leave _both'a_ you bitches behind."

Jenna and Daryl glared at each other for one more moment before she finally heaved and stepped around him, purposefully knocking her shoulder into his in the process – she accidently used her bum shoulder, however, having momentarily forgotten that it was still tender, but only allowed herself to cringe at the pain once she was positive Daryl couldn't see the expression on her face. Jenna sucked in a deep breath and ignored the throb now present in her shoulder and continued towards the street up ahead, trying to concentrate on the task at hand instead of how irritated she was with the redneck now trailing behind her.

It was a little easier to push her and Daryl's argument to the back of her mind once she had reached the end of the alley and was taking in the scene waiting for them in the street. Her truck was only about twenty yards away – the driver's side was flush against the side of a building and the vehicle as a whole looked thoroughly beaten up, but what concerned her the most was the dozen or so corpses loitering around in the area separating them from their goal; she assumed there were probably more lurking nearby too, but if that was the case she couldn't see them yet.

Daryl seemed to have chosen to forget their spat as well, because in the next moment he was crouching down next to her and assessing the situation while T-Dog hovered just behind them, weapons still at the ready just in case. There was a pensive look on Daryl's face for a few moments as he peered around, before he started relaying whatever plan he'd devised.

"I can take out those two from here." He said in a low voice, pointing towards a couple of decaying walkers – one male, the other female – that were shuffling around her truck. "Might distract the others long enough fer us'ta take 'em out from behind."

Even though Jenna didn't necessarily want Daryl to be in charge of their mission because he'd annoyed her so much, she wasn't really able to come up with a plan that sounded any better, either – she nodded in agreement. "Once the area's clear we can hop in the truck and skedaddle." Jenna added to the plan. "We definitely need to keep quiet, though – there aren't a lot of walkers around here now, but that could change at any moment."

"Quick question." T-Dog suddenly piped up from behind them. "What if the truck don't work?" He asked warily. "We can't risk havin' to run all the way back to Daryl's truck when we don't know how many more are around, 'specially with all the noise we gonna start makin' once we start takin' out walkers."

Jenna and Daryl immediately shared a look – the thought that her truck wouldn't work hadn't even crossed her mind, and, if the frown that formed on his face was anything to judge by, Daryl hadn't considered that possibility either. He thought T-Dog's words over for a second before turning back to their companion.

"Go back fer the pick-up 'n come wait fer us down the street." He told T-Dog. "We'll take care'a the geeks 'n get the truck – if it don't start we'll be haulin' ass in your direction, so keep the pick-up runnin'."

It was obvious that T-Dog wasn't very comfortable with the plan that Daryl had just proposed. "I dunno…" He started to say hesitantly, probably not liking the idea of heading off by himself.

"Get the damn truck." Daryl repeated impatiently, not sparing T-Dog another look as he prepared to set their plan into motion. "And watch the engine – it's shotty as shit."

T-Dog only hesitated for another second before cursing under his breath, then turning and hurrying back the way they had just come. Jenna watched him go, feeling significantly more uneasy with the situation now that it was just her and Daryl, and decided to take a quick moment to check the gun that Rick had loaned her in case she needed to use it. Daryl quirked an eyebrow at her when he saw what she was doing but she just shrugged and shoved the gun into the waistband of her pants.

"Just in case."

"Don'tcha _dare _use it 'less we're 'bout'ta get our asses eaten." He immediately instructed – then he crept forward a little more and took aim, casting one last look at Jenna over his shoulder. "Ready?"

After she nodded Daryl turned his attention forward and sent an arrow sailing towards the female walker standing at the hood of her truck– she watched as the arrow imbedded itself into the thing's eye socket (which, she had to admit, was actually pretty impressive, but there wasn't a chance in _hell_ she was going to tell Daryl that) before it collapsed on the ground. Daryl didn't even bat an eye as he made quick work of loading another arrow before taking out the other chomper lingering by the passenger door.

Daryl's plan only somewhat worked – about half of the walkers nearest to the truck turned in the direction of their fallen comrades, curious as to what had caused them to perish, but the rest seemed none-the-wiser of what had transpired. Jenna tightened the grip she had on her bat, praying it wouldn't slip out of grasp as her palms started to sweat a little, and gulped down her nervousness as Daryl nodded to her, silently telling her that she was up.

"Swing the _shit _outta that bat." He hissed as she crept past him.

Jenna nodded in understanding, then sucked in one last calming breath – _Here we go._

She crept up on the zombie nearest to them first, a grotesque looking male who was staring aimlessly up at the sky. When she reached him she swung hard at its head, watching as it crumbled to the ground – this drew the attention of another, but before it could come towards her or do anything to alert the other walkers of their presence Daryl was running up behind it to stab an arrow up into its brain. He quickly yanked the arrow back out to load his crossbow while Jenna took a few steps to the left to take out another mongrel; Daryl then sent his freshly loaded arrow into the forehead of the next walker to look in their direction.

Though everything had been going well thus far, Jenna quickly realized after a few more seconds that the sound of her bat connecting with skulls was alerting the rest of the chompers in the area to their presence – before she knew it over half a dozen walkers had spotted them and were coming right for them, and she quickly scrambled back to Daryl's side, not wanting to move too far away from him. Daryl decided to abandon his crossbow once he realized the walkers were closing in and draped it around his shoulder so he could wield his large bowie knife instead. Then he reached out and grabbed a fistful of Jenna's shirt with his free hand, yanking her even closer to him.

"Stay close." He told her before swinging his knife at the first walker to reach them, never once relinquishing his hold on her tank-top.

A large part of her wanted to panic because they were severely outnumbered, but Daryl was much stronger and a much better fighter than she had thought he was – as he yanked his knife free of the walker he'd just killed he reared back and powerfully kicked at the next one to approach, which caused it (and the two behind it) to go tumbling to the ground. While he mercilessly stabbed the one on top of the pile in the forehead, another came reaching for them and Jenna lashed out with her bat, forgetting her momentary fear and watching as it crumbled underneath the hard blow. Daryl moved to kill another just as Jenna swung again, but since he still had her by the shirt he pulled her with him and accidently made her stumble off balance – she missed and wound up hitting _him_ with her bat instead. He let out a grunt of pain as the bat connected with his shoulder, glared at her for a moment, then fought through the discomfort he was feeling to kick at another approaching zombie.

"Watch where you're swingin' that Goddamn thing!" He snapped irritably.

"Sorry!" Jenna hollered back, hitting a zombie in the stomach with the end of her bat to make it back off before swinging at its head twice to kill it. "It was an accident!"

There were only a few more walkers left now, so Daryl finally released the hold he had on her shirt and shoved Jenna in the direction of the truck. "Go on!" He commanded, killing another walker. "Git'ta the truck!"

Jenna hesitated, not sure she should leave him to fend for himself, before cursing and darting for the truck, but not before killing another walker in the process.

Everything looked exactly the same as when she had left it once Jenna dove in through the open passenger door – her bags were still on the floorboard, she spotted her handgun on the dash (she must have tossed it during the crash), and the dead flesh-eaters she'd killed the day before were still littering her backseat. As Jenna scrambled into the driver's seat and reached for the ignition, she was very surprised to see that the truck had been turned off – she knew _she _hadn't been the one to turn it off and didn't remember Rick doing it either, but then again she'd been so out of it after the crash that she wouldn't have even realized it if he _had_. It was very possible that the truck wouldn't start - hell, the truck might blow up for all she knew - but Jenna started to try to turn it on anyway. It stuttered with her every attempt to bring it back to life, groaning in protest, and Jenna cursed loudly before smacking her hands against the steering wheel.

"Come _on_! _Please _start!" She begged, turning the keys in the ignition again and listening as it sputtered pathetically.

"Hurry the _fuck _up, red!" She heard Daryl call to her over the noise of the truck and the groans of the walkers in the street.

Jenna tried the ignition again, stomping on the accelerator in a vain attempt to help kick start the engine. But with each second that passed where the truck remained lifeless, Jenna could feel her hope beginning to diminish and her heart starting to drop into her stomach – the truck was not only her lifeline, but it's the only thing that she had left of Jon; she just _couldn't _leave it behind.

"_Jenna_!" Daryl shouts again.

"I'm _trying_!" Jenna shouted back, assuming Daryl was just trying to urge her to hurry up and get the truck started.

But a loud groan from her right suddenly caught her attention, and when she turned her head Jenna realized that was _not _the reason why Daryl was yelling at her – a new, smaller gang of walkers had just made an appearance and one of them was only seconds away from crawling in through the passenger side, already baring its teeth and grappling at her hungrily. Jenna pressed her back into the driver side door, trying to grab hold of the bat she'd left in the passenger seat without getting grabbed as the thing started to close in on her, but the walker suddenly stopped dead in its tracks and slumped down into the seat after an arrow planted itself into the back of its skull. Jenna gasped for air, recognized the fact that the situation was getting worse, then grabbed for the keys again to try give the truck one more try – if it didn't work after this last attempt she was just going to have to grab her bags and hightail it out of there with Daryl before they became lunch, even _if _she didn't want to leave the truck behind.

Jenna turned the keys with all her might, praying to every God she'd ever heard of and pleaded with them to make the damned vehicle start as the truck sputtered and whined in protest.

Then, _finally, _it roared to life.

"Yes!" Jenna cried out in triumph.

Daryl heard the roar of the engine starting and didn't waste a second to dart for the truck, grabbing whatever arrows he could in the process – since they were about to be on their way anyway, Jenna reached for the pistol lying on the dashboard and started shooting any walker blocking his path, clearing the way for him and not caring how much noise she made now. As soon as he reached the passenger door Daryl hauled the dead walker out and quickly took its place, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Go!" He shouted, stabbing a walker in the forehead when it tried to grab him through the busted out window.

The loud, screeching sound of metal scraping against brick filled the air as Jenna threw the truck into drive and pulled away, leaving the remaining walkers behind as they tried (and failed) to grab onto her retreating truck. Daryl twisted around in his seat to watch them shrink into the distance before facing forward again and relaxing, glancing over at Jenna – he was clearly inspecting her for injury. She, in turn, turned her gaze over to him and let her eyes do a quick scan over his body as well, making sure he hadn't gotten hurt while she'd been trying to get the truck started.

"I'm fine." He told her, answering the silent question in her eyes. "You?"

"Fine." Jenna answered with a nod. As silence fell between them, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye – though he'd been irritating the ever-living hell out of her since the day she had met him, she did have to admit that they were _actually _a pretty good team when it came to taking out walkers. "Thanks for saving my ass." She finally said to break up the silence.

Daryl snorted at her. "Wasn't the first time, prob'ly won't be the last." He told her – something told Jenna that was his way of saying 'you're welcome'. Daryl then scowled at her and began rotating his shoulder. "Thanks fer beatin' the shit outta me with that bat, by the way." He grumbled sarcastically.

Jenna couldn't help but smirk. "Probably won't be the last time for _that_, either." She told him, echoing his words and glancing over at him to see his reaction. Daryl rolled his eyes but, for once, didn't say something biting in return. "Let's just say we're even now." Jenna added, moving her own healing shoulder around – then, as they started to near the end of the street, she realized T-Dog wasn't waiting for them like he should have been. "Where's T-Dog?" She asked in concern, her eyebrows furrowing together.

Daryl frowned and glanced around before pointing a finger towards the next street. "Turn here."

Jenna did so, her mind already starting to race with all the possibilities of what might've happened to their other comrade, but as soon as Daryl's pick-up came into view again they found T-Dog alive and well and kicking at the old truck in frustration – he looked immensely relieved once he spotted the big truck headed his way and came jogging over to meet with them as they came to a stop next to the pick-up.

"Damn thing died on me! Won't start for _nothin'_!" He said with a helpless shrug, eyeing the both of them. "Ya'll alright?"

"Yeah, we're good." Daryl answered before letting out a heave, shaking his head, and getting out of Jenna's truck to begin grabbing his belongings from the pick-up. "Let's just leave it." He said as he tossed a few bags into the bed of Jenna's truck. "No time'ta mess with it 'n its piece'a shit anyway." He reasoned. "Shame we gotta lose the gas, though…"

The last items he grabbed were the map and a few things from the glove-box before he was getting back into the larger truck and motioning for T-Dog to get in the backseat – T-Dog blanched when he opened the back door and saw the dead walkers sprawled over the seats, but he pulled them out regardless and tossed them carelessly onto the street.

"Careful back there." Jenna warned him cautiously. "There's glass and walker blood everywhere."

T-Dog nodded in understanding, glanced back out towards the street, then tossed his weapons into the truck and hauled himself into the backseat. "Geeks incoming." He said, slamming the door shut behind him as he got settled. "Let's get the hell outta here."

Jenna didn't need to be told twice – she pressed down on the gas without hesitation and pulled away, leaving Daryl's truck, the gang of walkers, and the nameless suburb in their dust.

* * *

**Daryl and Jenna = Batman and Robin? Nuh nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh nuh, BATMAN.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it took a little longer this time, been busy as of late! First off a big thanks to those who take the time to review (much appreciated!), but also I want to say thank you to those who alert/favorite the story. Keep on readin' and I'll keep on writin'!**

**Disclaimer: Own nothin'. Read and enjoy. **

* * *

_Chapter 5_

"_This just…this just doesn't feel right." _

_The sound of her mother's voice had Jenna pausing in her search of the pantry and taking a moment to glance at her over her shoulder – Renee was standing in front of the refrigerator with her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face, eyes sorrowfully inspecting the family pictures adorning the appliance. Jenna spared the photographs a quick look, eyeing the happy looking family smiling back at her, before she turned back to the mostly-barren shelves in front of her and resumed her search._

"_Yeah, well…it's just the way it is now, Mom." She told her mother dismissively, shrugging a shoulder. _

_Renee sighed and looked over to Jenna with furrowed brows, clearly still upset with both the fact that they'd entered the home of this unknown family to raid it for supplies __**and **__that Jenna was so nonchalant about it. In the next moment Renee snatched up one of the pictures and strode over to practically shove it under Jenna's nose, forcing her to look at it – the image was one of a pretty, brown-haired woman and a laughing toddler with blonde, bouncy-looking curls. _

"_This is their __**home**__, Jenna." Her mother reminded her in a sharp tone. "We can't just take their things." _

_Now her mother had the tendency to be extremely paranoid from time to time, could be a little overdramatic, and was sometimes a bit on the emotional side. But, nevertheless, she was a good woman with a kind heart and would have undoubtedly given her left foot if it meant that it'd help someone in need – Jenna knew this with all certainty._

_Yet as admirable a woman as her mother was, when it came to living in this zombie-infested world – where it was kill or be killed, and where one was forced to do things they'd rather not own up to in order to survive – Renee Matthews was simply __**not**__ cut out for it. Out of everyone in the group she was the one having the hardest time adjusting and accepting that this was the way things were now – the past three weeks had taught the rest of them to follow their gut instincts as opposed to their hearts, had taught them that they had to do whatever was necessary if they wanted to live long enough to see the next day…not Renee, though. Hell, if it were up to Jenna's mother they probably would have been __**tidying up**__ this random house somewhere near the Mississippi border, not looting it for provisions. _

"_Look…" Jenna started with an exasperated sigh, pushing her mother's hand, as well as the picture, away from her face. "It's not like we're running off with the TV and all their fine jewelry – we need food, we need supplies." She reiterated. "It's not like I __**enjoy**_ _breaking into someone's house and going through their personal stuff." Jenna added pointedly, frowning at her mother to make sure the woman understood how discomforted it made __**her **__feel as well. "But this is what we have to do to __**survive**__."_

_Jenna's argument was enough to make Renee quiet down, and she stared at the picture she was holding for one more moment before placing it back where it had been. The sadness Jenna saw in her eyes when she brushed past her and headed for the living room was enough to make her heart twinge guiltily – she shook her head with a heavy sigh before snatching up her shotgun again and following after her. _

"_Mom, please don't be upset…"Jenna begged, not sure she could handle a break-down on her mother's part right then._

"_How can I not be?" Renee retorted, whipping around to face Jenna again, tears welling up in her eyes. "I've had to leave behind everything I've ever known, if I want food I have to __**steal**_ _it from other people's homes, I'm constantly on the run from __**monsters**_ _that try to eat me at every opportunity." She ranted, becoming more and more upset by the second. "I have __**no**_ _idea if I'll ever see my son again or if he's even still __**alive**_,_ meanwhile I'm forced to watch the child I __**do**_ _have fight and claw her way to survival." As if to emphasize her dislike, Renee turned a watery, accusatory glare on the shotgun in Jenna's hand for a moment before bringing her hands up to press them over her eyes. "I can't __**stand**_ _this!" _

_Jenna rushed forward and wrapped her mother up in a tight hug, shushing her gently and rubbing soothing circles over her back as the woman finally succumbed to her tears. Renee's body was wracked with her sobs as she clung to Jenna desperately, and though Jenna returned the hug just as tightly, she couldn't help but feel utterly helpless in that moment. Her mother had just put a voice to the same troubles and fears that plagued __**her**__ thoughts as well – what if Sam was dead and they didn't know it? What if they couldn't find food one of these days? Or worse, what if one of them ended up getting __**bitten**__? _

_How could Jenna possibly convince her mother that everything was going to be alright when she wasn't even certain of that __**herself**__? _

"_I'm sorry, Mom." Jenna finally whispered, unable to think of anything else to say.  
"I'm so sorry..." _

_Renee sucked in a shuddering breath and tightened the hold she had on Jenna. "I hate this. I hate __**all**_ _of this…" Then she paused to sniffle before saying, "Thank God your father isn't alive to see this, to see what's become of this world…of this __**family**__…"_

_Jenna smoothed down her mother's hair before slowly pulling back to look her in the eyes, using her thumbs to wipe away the tear-tracks streaking Renee's grimy face. "Well, at least we agree on __**one **__thing." She told her in a gentle voice, also finding herself strangely relieved that her father hadn't lived long enough to see what their family had been reduced to – her mother was in shambles, Jenna was constantly fighting and killing for survival, and all the while the fate of Sam, the man of the family now, was still unknown; seeing them in such a dismal state would have killed him all over again. _

"_Listen…" Jenna continued once her mother looked like she had a better handle on herself. "I know you hate this, and __**I**__ do too. But I guess…" She shook her head and tried to force a smile on for her. "I guess we just have to hold on to whatever hope we have left."_

_Her mother blinked at her for a couple of seconds before a grim expression took over her aging features, making an uneasy feeling settle in Jenna's stomach. "I don't think I have any hope left inside me…" Renee finally admitted in a feeble voice._

_Jenna was immediately filled with dread at hearing the disconcerting words, but she didn't say anything more as her mother pulled away from her and shuffled slowly towards the front door. She watched her for a moment, frowning deeply and wishing she could think of a way to provide her with __**some **__comfort, but also knowing that there was probably nothing__she could do that would brighten Renee's spirits…well, not unless Sam suddenly appeared right out of thin air, anyway._

_Jenna only turned her eyes away from her mother when she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairway – for a brief moment she worried that it might be one of __**them**__, one of those __**things**__ coming down from the second floor, and her heart jumped into her throat. She relaxed when Jon's familiar face came into view, though, and offered a smile, quickly wiping the frown from her face so as not to worry him; Jon wasn't fooled and still noticed Jenna's troubled expression, glancing curiously between her and her mother a few times as he approached. _

"_Find anything useful?" Jenna asked him hopefully, trying to act as though she hadn't just had a heartbreaking conversation with her mother._

"_No. You?" Jenna sighed and shook her head' no' – Jon came to a halt in front of her and glanced over at Renee again, who was now lingering in the doorway and staring out at the deserted street outside. "Hey…is everything alright?" Jon asked in a hushed voice. _

_Jenna glanced at her mother and then shrugged a shoulder. "I' m not sure." She admitted truthfully, seeing no point in lying about it since he clearly could tell something was wrong. "My mom…she's not doing so well."_

_Jon frowned and reached out to place a hand on Jenna's shoulder. "Anything I can do?" He offered with a sympathetic expression._

"_Not unless you can change the world back and promise her that my brother's still alive." She informed him tiredly, reaching up to dig the heel of her palm into her forehead to try and relieve the ache beginning to settle there. "The sooner we get to Fort Benning, the better." Jenna said, dropping her hands again and releasing a weary sigh._

_Jon nodded and opened his mouth to say something else, but when an all-too-familiar sounding scream sounded in the air outside, followed by the loud, distinctive __**BOOM**__ of a gun being fired, his words died on his lips. _

_For a nanosecond Jon and Jenna stared at each other with widened eyes, too surprised to do anything. Then Jon was turning and racing out of the house at top-speed, already yelling for his parents as he went rushing past Jenna's mother. Jenna immediately followed him, grabbing her mother by the wrist to force the frozen woman along with her in the process – Renee started protesting, but her arguments fell on deaf ears when they reached the porch and Jenna, whose heart was pounding like a jackhammer against her ribs, could finally see what was happening. _

_Bill and Kelly, who had been searching the house next door, had just come bursting through the gate that lead to the backyard – they were being chased by at least four walkers and currently making their way to the truck as fast as they could, but the ruckus they'd created had already drawn the attention of at least a dozen more nearby walkers and the pair were quickly being surrounded by the blood-thirsty zombies._

_Jon jumped into action without a second thought – he'd already raised his hunting rifle and was shooting any walker that stepped into his line of sight, urging his parents to run faster as he tried to clear a path for them. Jenna, on the other hand, was paralyzed with fear. She could see how terrified Kelly looked and she could see the hunger on the faces of the corpses closing in on her and Bill as they tried to fight their way through…the gunshots and the screaming were enough to send chills down Jenna's spine and her fear only worsened when she realized that the current predicament was on the verge of getting much worse. Walkers were flooding in from all directions now in search of the commotion and a possible meal – they easily outnumbered their small numbers and were quickly filling up the space that separated Jon's parents from the truck and the rest of the group. _

"_Jenna – __**help me**__!"_

_Jon's yell finally snapped her back to reality. Jenna released her mother before hurrying down the porch steps to join Jon down in the street, ignoring Renee's pleas for her to not leave her side. "Mom, go for the truck_. _**Now**__!" Jenna yelled over her shoulder as she took her place next to Jon, somehow finding the strength to overcome her own fear and help Jon try to save his parents. _

_She raised her gun and started shooting at random, sending rounds of bullets into any of the flesh-eating monsters within range. She wasn't sure if her mother had made it to the truck (or if she'd even moved from the porch) but didn't have the time to check as Jon began moving forward to attempt to meet with his parents. Jenna followed close behind him to make sure he stayed protected – she had to take a moment to fish around in her pockets for more shells before quickly reloading her weapon, raising it just in time to blast an incoming walker in the stomach. _

"_In the head, Jenna!" Jon yelled from somewhere on her left. _

_Jenna cursed loudly and mentally berated herself for a second, then raised the gun higher, aiming for heads now. The gruesome sight of skulls exploding under the impact of her shots made her stomach turn violently with nausea but she did her best to ignore it, knowing that if she lost her focus for even a second that it could end in disaster – another walker wandered a little too close for her comfort and she fired again, turning her eyes away so that she wouldn't have to witness the thing's gory demise._

_Many things happened in the next moment. _

_Though Bill and Kelly were only about ten yards from the truck, the crowd of walkers had grown too thick for them to fight through – Bill tried to clear a path for he and his wife by shooting any corpse in his way, while Kelly lashed out with a fire-poker, trying desperately to ward off the zombies surrounding them. _

_Jenna's mother started screaming something at her but she could barely make out the words over the groaning zombies and the booming, resonating echoes_ _of their gunshots – she was just about to turn her head to make sure Renee was alright when a pair of bloody hands came reaching for her out of practically nowhere. She screamed and struggled against a frightening looking zombie for a few seconds as its fingers tried to close around her hair, finally only managing to break free of its grasp after she landed a hard kick to its stomach and made it stumble backwards. She raised her gun to shoot it, then promptly felt her heart drop when she pulled the trigger and only a __**CLICK**__ sounded in the air – she needed to reload again. _

_Jenna cursed and immediately started reloading, backing away from the zombie in the process. Just as she got the gun loaded, however, she tripped over a body that had been sprawled on the pavement behind her and fell to the ground with a hard bounce. Jenna heard Jon yell for her as she scrambled away from the walker, but she didn't dare turn her eyes away from the monster stalking her – the chomper looked as though it were about to launch itself on her at any given moment. Jenna started to raise her gun again as it closed in on her but before she could pull the trigger a bullet went though the rotting monster's skull, making it crumble lifelessly to the ground._

"_Get up!" It was Jon – he had come to Jenna's rescue. _

_Jenna barely had time to even think about what he'd told her before he was wrapping a hand around her arm and hauling her none-too-gently to her feet. She had just rightened herself again when – _

"_NO!" _

_It was Bill that was hollering, but only a heartbeat later his shout of denial was quickly drowned out by the sound of a bloodcurdling, pain-filled scream that suddenly rose up above all the commotion – Jenna and Jon turned just in time to see that something terrible had happened. Though Bill had managed to make it through the walkers, Kelly had somehow fallen behind. And within seconds, before any of them could do anything to try and help her, Kelly had been pounced on by at least four ravenous walkers._

"_MOM!" Jon hollered, leaving Jenna behind and running towards her. "Mom! MOM!" _

_It only took a few more moments for Kelly, who was still screaming at the top of her lung in pure anguish, to disappear underneath at least a dozen more starving walkers. Bill had started trying to fight his way back into the mob of walkers – most of which were now too busy eating the woman they'd captured to pay him any attention – intent on rescuing his wife, but in spite of all the chaos of that moment, all Jenna could think about was what Sam had told her before they fell out of contact. __**'There's no goin' back once you're bit, sis. That's it for them.**__', was what he'd told her time and time again; as much as Jenna hated to admit it, Kelly was beyond saving now. _

_Jenna quickly raced after Jon and, once he was within her reach, grabbed a hold of his shirt to keep him from running headfirst into the horde. "Jon, no! She's gone!" She yelled at him, using all of her strength to pull him to a stop. "Do you hear me? She's __**gone**__." Jenna reiterated, trying earnestly to meet his gaze and force him to see the truth in her eyes._

"_No she isn't!" Jon protested, still trying to shake off her vice-like grip. "Dad, get her!" He called to Bill, who was still attempting to fight his way through the zombies. "Please!"_

_In the next moment Kelly's screaming abruptly cut off, and then the only sound to break up the sudden, eerie silence is that of the undead feasting. Jon immediately stopped struggling against Jenna's hold and started trembling underneath her hands instead, sucking in a shaky breath as realization dawned on him. Kelly was dead – there was nothing any of them could do to help her now._

_Jenna could see that there were tears already beginning to stream down Jon's cheeks and his chest heaved as he gasped for air, watching the scene unfold in disbelief. He finally only snapped out of it when a walker came stumbling towards them and raised his gun to kill the thing – the gun was shaking with his trembles, but the look on his face was closed off and unfeeling as he shot it square between the eyes. Jenna reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, her heart pounding against her chest, but he just stiffened under her touch before his shoulders sagged – when he glanced back at her over his shoulder, the despair residing within in his eyes was enough to break her heart. _

"_Go to the truck." He instructed Jenna in a gravelly voice. "Get it started. I…I have to get my dad. We…" He struggled to get the words out for a second. "We gotta get outta here." Jon finally finished._

_Jenna nodded, deciding it would be best to do as she was told, and released him so he could collect Bill. She only watched him for a second before turning to run for the truck._

_She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to kill every monster within a five mile radius – Jenna had seen strangers fall victim to these mindless animals countless times before…but this? __**This**__ was different. This was Jon's __**mother**__, for God's sake._ _Kelly was the first person in the group that they had lost, the first person that Jenna had cared for that she had actually __**watched**__,__with her own two eyes, get eaten by those monsters. She was dead now, nothing more than a pile of ravaged flesh on the asphalt in some unknown neighborhood…and for what? Nothing, that was what – absolutely nothing. They had come into this God-forsaken neighborhood to look for supplies and had come up empty handed; the trip had been a pointless one that had ended up costing them dearly._

_Jenna found Renee in the backseat of the truck with her hands over her ears and tears streaming down her face once she was sliding into the driver's seat. Though she wanted to console her mother, she knew that it wasn't the right time; the time for mourning would be later, when they had gotten away from this zombie-infested neighborhood and found safety again. _

_Jenna did as Jon had told her and started up the engine, watching as he grabbed his distraught father and roughly hauled in the direction of the truck. While Jon and Bill make their way back, pausing here or there to kill an incoming walker, Jenna's own tears finally started falling; she did nothing to wipe them away as she shook her head to herself sadly. "I'm so sorry, Kelly…" She whispered, even though she didn't think the apology to be __**near**__ enough. "I wish I could have done more…"_

_It would just be the four of them now – Jenna and her mom, and Jon and his dad. Poor Kelly Crites, the woman Jenna had seen as a second mother, was dead now, falling victim to this terrible apocalypse before they had a chance to reach their salvation. _

_And the worst part was that wouldn't even be able to give her the proper burial that she so deserved…_

* * *

The crash had left Jenna's truck in a bit of a poor state, but lucky for her Dale had some experience working underneath the hood of a vehicle and was able to doctor the engine up enough to get it ready for the upcoming journey – once the inside was cleaned out as well, the truck was looking a little bit more like normal.

By noon the next day their camp had been packed up and the convoy was en route on Highway-85. Though her trip to Atlanta hadn't been completely unsuccessful – it _had_ brought her to Rick Grimes and this friendly group of survivors after all – Jenna had to admit that she was extremely happy to watch the skyscrapers of downtown shrinking into the distance through her rearview mirror. Leaving that deathtrap of a city behind was absolutely no sweat off her back, especially so seeing as they were now slowly making their way towards Fort Benning, and, hopefully, her brother Sam; just thinking about getting to her goal destination and the possibility of seeing her brother again had her feeling much more cheerful than she had in a long while.

"Okay, I've got another one – if you could save any celebrity and have them join the group, who would you choose?"

Jenna's travelling companion for the day was Glenn – when it had come time to decide who was going to ride in which vehicle he'd immediately called dibs on riding with Jenna, claiming he wanted to ride in the 'big-ass, badass truck'. Now that he seemed to have discovered how to talk to her without embarrassing himself he was actually pretty good company to have – they'd been shooting questions like this at one another for the past hour by now, just to pass the time.

"Oh, that's a tough decision." Jenna said with pursed lips, her expression thoughtful. "What am I basing this choice off of – hot factor or contribution to survival?" She asked with a curious lift of her eyebrow.

Glenn shrugged. "Either-or, you decide."

"Hmmm…" She mused aloud. It had been so long since Jenna had thought about the entertainment world that she'd nearly forgotten that celebrities had once been something people considered to be of 'importance'. Honestly, she'd nearly forgotten that famous people had even existed to begin with; it actually took a moment or two to for her to even remember which ones she used to admire. "Okay…" Jenna continued, coming to her decision. "Due to circumstances I'll go with contribution to survival and pick Bear Gryllis."

Glenn nodded in approval and wagged an index finger at her. "Well played, a _very _good choice indeed." Then he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes questioningly. "Out of curiosity, who would you choose based on looks?"

As a face popped into her head, Jenna sighed and plastered on a love-struck smile, just for added effect. "Hugh Jackman." She said wistfully.

Glenn immediately scoffed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well…" He huffed. "I mean…I guess if you're _into _that whole, 'Oh, look at me, I'm big and buff and Australian' thing…" Glenn continued in a sarcastic tone.

Jenna had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. "Are you kidding? Who _doesn't_ like an Australian stud?" She countered, not even trying to hide her grin of amusement over his reaction anymore. "Actually, we could use muscle like that in the group." She added with a quick nod of her head. "Maybe I'll nix Bear Gryllis and just choose Mr. Jackman, instead."

"Nope, can't do that. You already made your choice." Glenn denied matter-of-factly. When Jenna quirked an eyebrow at him he held his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't make the rules." Was the excuse he gave her.

Jenna couldn't hold back her laughter anymore and let out a chuckle, shaking her head to herself for a moment. Glenn was actually a pretty funny guy once you got to know him a little better – if she ended up sticking with this group for a while, Jenna could see him becoming a friend at one point or another.

"Alright then, I have one for _you_." Jenna told him once she stopped chuckling a few moments later. "If you could have one of your favorite pastimes back, what would it be?"

"Easy. Video games." Glenn answered without hesitation, not at all surprising her with his reply. "How about this – if you could eat one meal right now, what would you have?"

It didn't take Jenna very long to decide on an answer either. "Oh God, I'd murder for a big, fat steak and a loaded baked potato." She said, the wistful expression on her face much more sincere this time around and her mouth watering a little at the thought of one of her favorite meals. Judging by the longing look in Glenn's eyes, he too would have been happy with a nice, juicy steak. "Moving on…" She said to change the subject, not liking how hungry she suddenly felt. "If you could go anywhere in the world and _not_ have to worry about walkers when you got there, where would you go?"

Glenn made a thoughtful sound and mulled over the question for a seconds. Then, after he thought of his answer, he looked back to Jenna with a small, melancholy smile on his face. "Home."

It was only one word, but the instant it was past his lips the mood in the truck immediately shifted. Whatever cheeriness Jenna and Glenn had felt from their companionable conversation and playful banter seemed to have been sucked right out of the air with the seemingly innocent word.

Jenna turned her gaze away from his before sighing and running a hand through her hair – _home. _What wouldn't she give to be safe and sound and at home with her mother, Sam, and Jon? What wouldn't she trade just to have their old Friday night get togethers back and to spend her Sundays watching football and drinking beer again? What wouldn't she give to just have everyone that she loved alive and well? Jenna let those questions roll around in her mind a moment longer before she shook her head, forcing herself back to the present.

"Good answer." She told Glenn slowly before offering him a comforting smile. "I'd go home, too."

Glenn seemed grateful that she understood, but Jenna could easily spot the sorrow still residing in his eyes. He shifted his gaze away from hers to look out the window, and for a few minutes an awkward-feeling stretch of silence passed between the two – Jenna didn't want to say anything else on the matter, not wanting to upset her companion any further, while Glenn seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. After a minute or so he finally started toying with some of the things in the truck, though he still seemed a little distracted.

"Cool truck, by the way." He complimented after a few more minutes of silence, effortlessly changing the subject and sounding a bit more like his normal, more chipper self. The troubled look had disappeared from his face when his eyes finally met Jenna's, and he offered a small, friendly half-smile. "Have I told you that yet?"

"I think you may have mentioned it once or twice." Jenna confirmed with a nod, just as eager to move on with the conversation. "But thank you, anyway."

Glenn nosed around a little before fiddling with the latch of the glove-box for a second, waiting to see if she would say anything before finally opening it. "How'd you get this thing, anyway?" He asked, snooping around a bit more. "Did you steal it?"

"No, it's mine." Jenna told him with a shake of her head. "Or at least it is now." She clarified. "It belonged to…" Jenna trailed off, suddenly unsure whether this was the right time to tell Glenn about Jon or not. She knew that he and the others wanted to know about her journey to Georgia, but talking about Jon was just so…_personal. _It was not only a topic close to her heart but something that was still very painful to relive, and the bottom line was that she still barely knew Glenn (or the rest of the group for that matter). Could she trust them with such private information about herself and loved ones? "…a former companion." Jenna finally finished, cursing herself for being a wimp but still opting to skirt around the subject for the time being.

Glenn had noticed her hesitation, though, and he watched Jenna for a long second before closing the glove-box again with firm _snap_.

"You know, Jenna…I understand why you'd be afraid to trust people." He stated bluntly, reading her like an open book. "Surviving nowadays isn't easy. You don't know what's safe and what isn't, who's a good guy and who isn't." Glenn went on to explain. "Trust me, we've run into people before that were…less than friendly. But us?" He shook his head and smirked at her encouragingly. "_We're_ different. You can trust us – we _want _you to trust us."

Jenna turned her eyes forward again with a sigh, eyeing the back of Rick's car as the caravan continued along – Glenn was right and she knew it. There were plenty of people in the world that couldn't be trusted, but not these people. _This_ group was vastly different from – and _far _better than – any of the others she'd run into along the way.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend." She finally told him, looking to him apologetically. "Old habits just die hard, I guess."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended." Glenn told her reassuringly. "I'm just…curious." Then he added, "We _all _are."

Jenna glanced over at him again; Glenn was watching her expectantly, obviously waiting for her to start divulging _something_ about herself and her journey to Georgia. She sucked in another breath and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, steeling herself for the conversation to come as she finally decided to open up to her companion a little bit.

"Jon." It was the first time Jenna had said his name out loud in a month – saying his name again felt a little odd and made her stomach flip over fretfully. "His name was Jon." Then she gnawed at her bottom lip, trying to ignore the wrenching of her heart. "He was my boyfriend."

Glenn's expression immediately turned sympathetic and he nodded slowly. "When did you lose him?"

"About a month ago." She answered before looking over at him with a sad smile. "It hasn't been easy without him. I guess I just…thought I'd always have him, you know? We were together for so long and…" Jenna shook her head, trying to clear out the bad memories that were beginning to surge up with the turn of the conversation – she didn't _want _to remember the hitchhiker on the side of the road, nor did she want to think about the death-trap of a cabin that they had bunked up in _or_ the gunshots that had echoed off the trees around her when she'd been forced to run for her life. "I'm still recovering from the whole ordeal to be honest." Jenna admitted. "It's…hard to talk about him."

"Was it walkers?" Glenn asked a bit unsurely.

Jenna pressed her lips into a tight line then slowly shook her head. "No." She answered truthfully, because walkers _hadn't _been the cause of Jon's death – Glenn looked a little confused before he looked immensely disturbed, but before he had the chance to press her for any details surrounding Jon's death, Jenna decided to change the subject again. "So…" She said, turning her eyes forward again and forcing on a hopeful smile. "How long do you think until we reach Fort Benning?"

She could still feel Glenn watching her with a bothered look on his face but he decided to roll with the subject change. "Dunno, maybe a week?" He predicted. "Could be longer, could be shorter. It just depends, I guess." Jenna nodded in understanding, then looked over at Glenn when he reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry about Jon." He told her in a gentle tone, his mind clearly still focused on what she'd just revealed to him. "I bet he was a good guy."

Glenn was the first person that had been able to express condolences for her loss, and even though she had been reluctant to talk about Jon and her journey from Texas, Jenna did have to admit that confiding in Glenn had helped relieve some of the pressure that had been pressing down on her heart for the past month; it felt as though Jenna was finally starting to get some sense of the closure that she had been so desperately looking for.

"Thank you." She told him sincerely. "And I'm sorry, too. For anyone that you've lost."

Glenn was the one to smile gratefully now. "Thank you." He said before dropping his hand from her shoulder and turning his eyes back to the road ahead of them.

* * *

"What's going on?" Glenn asked some time later when he saw that Dale's RV was coming to a stop. "Why's Dale stopping?"

Jenna pressed her foot on the brakes to bring the truck to a stop and frowned in confusion, poking her head through the open driver's side window so she could take a look around. Since they'd been on the road for nearly four hours they were pretty far away from the city or any form of remaining civilization by now; there hadn't been any signs of life – human _or_ undead – for ages; Jenna surveyed the crowded highway they were on for a second, realized just how many abandoned cars were scattered about in the area, and could only assume that a roadblock was the culprit for their momentary delay.

"The road looks pretty jammed." Jenna told Glenn with a huff as she settled back into her seat. "There's probably something in the way."

As if he'd heard them trying to figure out what was going on, Daryl suddenly came riding around the back of the RV on his motorcycle, making a motion with his hand that signaled for Rick and Jenna to follow his lead. Then he disappeared around to the front of the caravan again with the apparent intention of leading the group through whatever maze they had laid out before them.

An eerie feeling immediately settled within her once the convoy was mobile again and slowly creeping its way through the labyrinth of cars. It looked as though most of the vehicles they passed had been abandoned months ago and several had been ransacked for leftover supplies, but the cars that caught Jenna's attention were the ones still occupied by the decaying bodies of their former owners. She pulled a face when they passed a small two door and she spotted the sunken in face of a dead stranger – Jenna gulped and quickly shifted her gaze forward again, not wanting to see the unpleasant sight anymore.

Glenn, who had also been surveying the area with an uneasy expression on his face, glanced over at Jenna. "This is creepy." He stated, looking a little anxious.

"Yeah…" Jenna agreed with a nod. She caught sight of a car up ahead that had been flipped over and stared at it with a curious frown. "Wonder what all happened here."

Glenn stared into a car that they passed by for a long moment before he turned his eyes forward and shook his head, looking rather uneasy. "I don't think I wanna know." He admitted.

For a long few minutes the convoy continued forward and wove through the abandoned cars, but though the maze of vehicles seemed endless, it also seemed as though they were going to be able to find the way through. But just as Jenna was rejoicing at the thought of leaving this new, strange setting behind and continuing on to Fort Benning, Dale's RV came to a halt once again.

_What now? _Jenna wondered as she pressed on the brakes again – when Rick suddenly turned off his car and stepped out onto the road to investigate, his cars inhabitants quickly following his lead, Jenna and Glenn shared a look before they too decided to see what was going on.

By the time she had moved the shifter into park and was cutting the engine to her own truck, Glenn had already gotten out and headed towards the rest of the group. Jenna stepped out of the truck but lingered behind, staring uneasily into the beige Expedition she'd just parked next to – there were three bodies inside, though she wasn't sure if they were simply dead or if they were the _un_dead just biding their time until fresh meat came along. Jenna slowly stepped up to the window to inspect them closer, then breathed a little easier when all three bodies remain motionless. When the stench of death became too much to handle she finally backed away and turned back to her truck to reach inside and retrieve her shotgun, just in case there was any trouble lurking nearby.

The rest of the group had already dispersed once she was headed over to the RV. Jenna glanced at the broken down camper, which had smoke billowing out from underneath its hood, then stopped by Rick, raising an eyebrow when she saw that he was preparing his rifle.

"What's goin' on?" She asked him curiously, turning her attention to the others and watching as they rifled through some of the nearby cars.

"Dale's RV broke down. He's gonna start workin' on it while the others search for supplies." Rick answered before – when he noticed the gun in her hands, he raised his eyebrows at her. "See somethin' back there?" He asked, eyes already turning back in the direction they'd just come from.

"Other than dead bodies? No." She answered before frowning up at him. "We need to get outta here as soon as possible, Rick." She told him in completely seriousness – as previously mentioned, the highways were dangerous; travelling on them was risky enough, but _camping_ _out _on them was just asking for trouble. "There's more than just walkers to worry about near the highways and we're _way _too exposed."

Rick straightened up at hearing that and grabbed hold of his gun with firm hands, turning his eyes out to the nearby cars suspiciously for a moment or two before looking back at Jenna. "What _else _is there'ta worry 'bout?" He asked uncertainly, looking a bit alarmed now.

Jenna pursed her lips then shook her head. "Why don't we talk about that once we're on the move again?" She suggested, not wanting to make an already precarious situation any worse by instilling paranoia in the others.

Rick didn't seem overly pleased with her successful dodging of his question, but he nodded his head anyway. "Alright, then…" He said slowly. "Dale's good 'bout fixin' that RV, I'm sure he'll have it up 'n runnin' in no time." Then he nodded his head in the direction that the rest of the group went. "Why don't ya go help the others find supplies while we wait – I'll keep'a lookout here."

"Okay." Jenna agreed.

Instead of following the group, she headed back towards her truck to collect her own gas can – Jenna could feel Rick's eyes on her back as she went, but she ignored the stare trained on her and continued on, intending to siphon some fuel from the cars they had already passed by while the others searched the vehicle up ahead.

She hesitated by the beige Expedition once the gas can was in hand and contemplated breaking in to its fuel tank – in the end she decided to leave it undisturbed out of respect for the deceased family inside. She moved on to a green Honda a few feet away instead, wasting no time to break open the tank and slide in the rubber hose that she would need to obtain the fuel. Jenna first checked to see if there was even any fuel left inside by gently blowing air through the tube, then began going through the process of siphoning once she heard a tell-tale bubbling sound inside the tank, a clear signal that there was fuel available for the taking.

While gasoline began to steadily stream into her gas can Jenna took a wary look around – there was a nagging, uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't seem to shake off. Maybe it was because these were unfamiliar surroundings or maybe it was just because she wasn't a huge fan of camping out on the highway _or _the woods, but either way the current situation was making her very apprehensive and Jenna _very _much wanted the convoy to be on its way again. She looked in the direction they had just driven in from, not feeling all that comforted even though she saw no suspicious movement, then glanced towards the others to see what everyone else was up to – Glenn and Shane were searching under the hoods of cars for spare parts while the rest were still combing the area for supplies; way up ahead she could just barely spot T-Dog and Daryl weaving in between cars as they loaded up on fuel.

Once Jenna had gotten all she could from the tank of the Honda she rounded up her supplies and moved on to the silver four-door that Rick's car was parked next to, repeating the process once she'd broken into that one's tank as well. This time she scrutinized the thick foliage on the side of the highway, keeping a sharp eye out for any movement in the tall grass.

After she finished with the silver four-door she continued on, spending the next handful of minutes loading up on fuel from the various cars parked around their caravan. She was just about to finish with a small white car located on the _incoming _side of the highway, feeling fairly accomplished when she felt how heavy with fuel the gas can had become, when a hiss grabbed her attention.

"Jenna!" She looked over to see that Rick was waving to her frantically – in an instant Jenna was on alert, knowing the panic on his features could only mean bad news. "Walkers!" He hissed next.

She immediately glanced back and, sure enough, saw an entire mob of them starting to appear from around a huge semi-truck they'd bypassed earlier. Jenna cursed and immediately dropped into a crouch to get out of the walkers' line of sight, glancing around wildly and knowing that she only had a matter of seconds to find a decent hiding place. Rick looked worriedly between Jenna and the incoming walkers, still motioning for her to come to him, but she knew it was too risky of a move – had there been cars to duck behind she could have made it to Rick; as it was there was a fair bit of open space between herself and the RV, and with nothing to hide behind, she knew there was no way she could go running out into the open without getting spotted and riling up the monsters coming their way. So, instead, Jenna crept to the driver's side door of the car she was already at to see if it was open, hoping she could slip inside unnoticed and hide until the walkers passed by.

The door was locked.

"Shit." Jenna cursed in a low whisper, glaring at the car for a second before scampering over to a grey two-door about five feet away – to her relief, the door opened when she pulled on the handle.

Jenna immediately slid inside and closed the door behind her as quietly and slowly as she could. She could already see the zombies closing in through the back window as she crawled into the backseat, but she still moved with slow, careful movements, making sure not to do anything that would jostle the car around and accidentally draw the walkers' attention, The space between the backseat and the floorboards was absolutely tiny but Jenna still somehow managed to squeeze herself into the small space and duck out of sight.

And not a moment too soon either – not two seconds went by before the walkers had reached the car Jenna was hiding in and were shuffling their way past at a torturously slow pace.

Jenna could hardly move, could barely even _breathe_ she was so terrified – in fact, her heart was pounding against her ribs so hard that she was actually afraid that the undead corpses ambling past would be able to hear it. She closed her eyes and tightened her grip around the shotgun as the minutes ticked by, hoping and praying that being in the confines of the car would be enough to conceal her human scent from the zombies; a loud _BANG _on the side of the car had her biting back a scream of fright at one point, but to her everlasting relief nothing came from the sudden noise – a mongrel had probably just tripped over its own feet and fallen into the car before continuing on its way.

They moaned and groaned as they slowly moved past her hiding place, until after what felt like an _eternity_, the groaning finally began to die off as the last of the walkers went past. Then, eventually, everything went deathly silent again.

For a long moment Jenna didn't have the guts to even move, let alone peek out the window to check and see if any walkers were still in the area. But once she finally had her breathing back under control and had convinced herself that, _no, _she _wasn't _about to get eaten by a herd of chompers, Jenna slowly straightened up to take a look out of one of the tinted windows – from what she could tell the zombies seemed to have cleared the area and moved on. She looked around one more time, just to double check, then finally climbed her way back out of the car.

The first sound to reach Jenna's ears hear once was out in the open again was anguished crying.

Now, when a horde of walkers had just come through an area where vulnerable humans – children included – were currently stranded, the last (and probably _worst_) sound that one would want to hear would be that sort of pained crying – it meant that either someone was dead or someone was hurt, both of which were unfavorable circumstances. Jenna jogged over to the RV, the last place that she had seen any members of the group, then was immediately hit with a sinking feeling in her stomach when rounded the camper and saw that a distraught looking Carol was being restrained by Lori.

"What happened?" Jenna asked, putting two and two together and looking around searchingly for any sign of Sophia; to her increasing concern, the young girl was nowhere in sight.

Carl was the one to answer Jenna's question. "It's Sophia." He told her with a quivering lip. "She…she got chased by walkers...into the woods." He explained, pointing towards the forest looming on the side of the highway. "My dad went in after her."

"Oh no…" Jenna said aloud, walking up to the guard rail on the side of the road and staring out into the vast forest in front of them.

A little girl being chased by the walkers was bad enough, but being chased into the _woods_? Jenna herself had been in a similar predicament right after Jon had been killed, so she knew _exactly_ what dangers could be lurking in those trees and _exactly _how terrifying being in that situation was…and _she _was an _adult_. Jenna glanced over at Carol and felt her heart go out to the woman when she saw her sobbing into Lori's shoulder – Jenna then turned her eyes up and shared a long look with Lori, their grim expressions mirroring each other's.

"Need a little help here!" Daryl's voice caught their attention – everyone turned to see that he had just appeared and that he was supporting an injured T-Dog, who was leaning heavily on Daryl's shoulder and bleeding profusely.

Jenna and Dale rushed over to them at once so they could offer assistance, and together the three of them managed to get T-Dog laid out in the street next to the RV. The wounded man let out a groan of pain and clutched his arm once he was settled, obviously in quite a bit of pain.

"Was it a walker?" Jenna asked Daryl, who seemed to have realized that something wasn't right and was now looking towards Carol and Lori in confusion.

"No, cut 'imself on a car." He answered at once before turning a questioning look on her. "What's goin' on?"

Jenna let out a heavy heave. "Sophia got chased into the woods by a couple walkers. Rick went after her." Daryl immediately cursed under his breath and turned to head for the guard rail, already prepping his crossbow as he blatantly prepared to go in after Rick and Sophia. "Hey!" Jenna called to make him pause – Daryl cast a look back at her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Watch your back." She instructed firmly. "You don't know what's lurking in those woods."

"I can handle myself in some woods." He said dismissively. Then Daryl nodded in T-Dog's direction. "Take care'a him."

And with that Daryl climbed over the guard rail and started making his way through the thick foliage without another word, leaving Jenna and the rest of the group to stare after him until he too disappeared from sight.

* * *

**So a bit more about Jenna's journey revealed. What do ya think?**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know the story isn't off to the most eventful start ever, but if you can hang in there I promise there will be more action and more Daryl/Jenna-ness here in a few more chapters. Bear with me!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 6_

No matter how many times Jenna readjusted her pillows, despite numerous rounds of counting sheep, there seemed to be nothing she could do to fall asleep that night. For hours she had been tossing and turning, but between listening to Carol crying in the RV, hearing the hushed conversations of the few still awake, and all of the concerns plaguing her thoughts, it was impossible for Jenna to relax long enough to have any hope for rest. So after eventually deciding to just stop trying altogether, Jenna shoved her blanket off and sat up with a heave, rubbing her eyes wearily before glancing around to see what the others were doing – Dale and Glenn were sitting on the roof of the RV and having a hushed conversation, Shane was sitting in front of the fire with a blank expression on his face, and Daryl was fiddling with his motorcycle by way of the dim firelight.

Jenna yawned widely before hauling herself up from the pallet she'd made in the bed of her truck and hopping over the side, heading towards the dying fire once she was down in the street again. Daryl's eyes turned in her direction when she walked up but he didn't say anything in greeting, simply turned back to his motorcycle. His lack of acknowledgement didn't surprise Jenna very much – she and Daryl had been more or less avoiding each other ever since they'd returned from collecting her truck. She diverted her attention away from Daryl as quickly as he'd turned his away from her and focused on Shane instead, who was looking up at her with raised eyebrows.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Nope." Jenna answered with a shake of her head. "Kinda hard to."

Shane nodded slowly and turned his eyes back down to the flickering flames. "Yeah…"

The atmosphere around the camp could only be described in one way that night – _heavy_. Heavy with tension, heavy with sadness, heavy with guilt…and it was all because Sophia, a defenseless little girl, was still missing and there was no way of knowing where she had gone to. Rick and Daryl had trekked around in the woods for hours, searching desperately for the missing girl while they still had sunlight, but to everyone's dismay they had come up empty handed. The two men had returned at sunset without Sophia or even any clues as to where she might be, forced to end their search since it was getting dark; as Daryl had quickly pointed out, trekking through the woods at night was not only too difficult, but also too _dangerous_.

Needless to say, the notion that Sophia was still out in those woods somewhere - alone and without any form of protection (or sustenance) and probably scared out of her mind - was as disheartening as it was terrifying, and it had left everyone in pretty low spirits.

Jenna glanced towards the dark, looming trees of the forest, saying a quick prayer for Sophia's safety (even though she wasn't sure her prayers would do any good) before turning a look on the RV behind her, frowning sympathetically when she heard the sound of Carol's anguished sobs again. The woman had been in absolute shambles all evening, which was to be expected – Jenna couldn't even imagine how painful and maddening it must be to lose your daughter in such a way, to not know where she was even though it seemed like the girl was only _just _out of their grasp.

Yet the sympathy that Jenna felt was not only reserved for the grieving mother inside the RV. It was for Rick as well – he hadn't put a voice to it, but Jenna had seen the guilt that lingered in his blue eyes for the entirety of the evening. It was only too obvious that he blamed himself for what had happened to Sophia.

"You talked to Rick?" Jenna asked Shane curiously, since she had already quickly figured out that he was Rick's right hand man; he nodded in confirmation. "How's he holdin' up?"

Shane sucked in a deep breath then let it out heavily, shrugging a shoulder at Jenna. "Could be better, could be worse." He answered vaguely.

Jenna nodded and then looked back to the RV again, gnawing at the inside of her cheek uncertainly when the crying inside rose in volume – the sound even made Daryl look up from his motorcycle and had Dale and Glenn's conversation stopping for a moment. "I…I think maybe I should check up on Carol." Jenna stated with a frown, already taking a step in the direction of the RV.

Shane pursed his lips and shook his head. "I'd leave 'er be for now." He suggested, making Jenna hesitate and rethink her decision. "Glenn tried'ta talk to 'er not too long ago 'n she all but kicked 'im out." Shane went on to explain, dropping the volume of his voice a little. "I think she wants'ta be alone."

Though she was still tempted to check in on the woman that had been unyieldingly kind to her since she'd started travelling with the group, Jenna nodded in understanding and opted to give Carol her space. "Alright then…" Jenna turned to survey the highway and, as she suspected would probably be the case, quickly spotted Rick patrolling along the guardrail a little ways down the road – he had a rifle in his hands and his eyes were turned out to the surrounding forest as he ambled along. "I'll be back." She said to no one in particular before heading in his direction.

A slight chill settled around her as soon as she stepped away from the heat of the fire. She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, sending a cautious look towards the woods as she made her way towards Rick – the man was so focused on the tree-line that he didn't notice her coming at first, but the instant the sound of Jenna's approaching footsteps reached his ears he was on alert and turning around to face her with a speed she didn't know he had, rifle raised defensively.

Jenna immediately held her hands up in surrender. "It's just me." She told him reassuringly.

Rick released a heavy heave and lowered the rifle he was holding, now looking to her with a stern, disapproving frown. "Ya might should announce your presence next time." He suggested in his southern drawl. "I could'a shot ya just then."

"And a good evening to you too, Deputy Do-Right." Jenna shot back at him with a small smirk, taking a few more steps in his direction – she thought she spied a lingering, self-loathing expression on Rick's face, but before she could be sure he had quickly concealed it from her.

"Is that a nickname I'm gonna have'ta get used to?" Rick asked in response, quirking an eyebrow.

"Probably." She said matter-of-factly – Rick shook his head, finally flashing a half-hearted smile in her direction.

Jenna took a moment to give him a once over and saw, not so surprisingly, that Rick seemed to be loaded down with weapons and supplies. His pistol was in the holster dangling by his hip, a hatchet and knife were both hanging from his belt-loop, and a flashlight was tucked into the waistband of his pants. The amount of weaponry had her questioning Rick's motives for patrolling, but Jenna decided not to question him on it just yet. "Mind if I join you?" She finally asked.

Rick seemed a little surprised by the offer – he took a second to eye the forest, the expression on his face unreadable, until he finally nodded at Jenna in consent. "Feel free." He said, though she thought she detected a hint of disappointment in his tone.

With that the two started walking along the side of the road, both keeping their eyes alert and on their surroundings as they moved further away from the camp. Jenna wanted to ask him how he was handling Sophia's disappearance and make sure that he wasn't about to do anything rash – like going stomping into an unknown forest alone and at nighttime to look for the girl, which is what she was fairly certain he was contemplating doing – but since she was still 'the new girl' and didn't want to overstep her boundaries, Jenna wasn't sure how to go about approaching either subject. So, instead, she kept her mouth shut as they walked in silence for a long couple of minutes.

"Glenn told me about your boyfriend." Rick said out of nowhere to break the silence, catching Jenna a little off guard. "I'm sorry'ta hear it."

She looked to Rick in surprise before shifting her gaze elsewhere, frowning to herself – she supposed she should have known that Glenn would probably tell Rick what he had learned about her; Jenna had to wonder if the others knew about Jon by now as well. "Thanks." She said, not meeting Rick's gaze. "Guess I should've expected him to spill the beans, huh?"

"Don't hold it against 'im – he's harmless, I promise." Rick quickly defended his companion. "Besides, I was the one who asked him'ta learn more about ya." He revealed. "So technically he was reportin' back'ta me."

Jenna quickly came to a halt and raised her eyebrows at Rick. "Oh yeah?" She asked, uncertain how she should feel about Rick ordering one of his men to get more information on her. Then she made a thoughtful noise. "Let me guess, you've been having Daryl keep an eye on me too, right?" Jenna then quipped with a small smirk.

Now she hadn't _actually _thought that Rick had ordered Daryl to act like a security guard for the group and keep watch over her – she'd mostly been joking when she'd asked the question. But when Rick came to a halt next to her and she saw the expression on his face, Jenna quickly realized that she was _right_ and that he had.

"Seriously?" She asked in surprise.

Rick just shrugged at her with an unaffected expression on his face. "Like I said before, I'm glad we found ya…but that don't change the fact that I got a lot'a people I'm responsible for – I have'ta practice caution when it comes'ta lettin' someone new join the group." He told her, the tone of his voice letting her know he didn't regret his decision in the slightest. "And in case ya forgot, ya _did _hold me at gunpoint for five minutes the first time we met." Rick reminded her, making her cringe a little as she quickly recalled that particular encounter. "Do ya blame me for wantin'ta make sure ya weren't gonna be trouble?"

Jenna pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at him, thinking his reasoning over for a moment, then nodded in understanding. She supposed she really couldn't fault him for wanting to make sure she was trustworthy – she probably would have done the exact same thing if the roles had been reversed. "No, I guess I don't." Jenna conceded before tilting her head in question. "So what's the verdict?"

Rick pursed his lips before slowly nodding his head. "Ya seem harmless enough." He told her – she wasn't sure why, but this made her breathe a little easier. "…well, to _us _anyway." He added as an afterthought. "Don't think I can say the same thing for walkers though, if what Daryl says is true."

Jenna could only stare after Rick in confusion for a moment as he turned and resumed patrolling, this time heading back in the direction of camp. She snapped out of it, though, and hurried to catch up with him. "Come again?" She pried once she was in step with him again, curious to learn what the oh-so-delightful Daryl had to say about her.

"He told me you're a good fighter." Rick revealed. "Said ya could hold your own against the walkers."

Jenna was fairly certain that was the first positive thing Daryl had said about her since they had met – the revelation left her feeling genuinely stunned. "Woooow." She mused aloud with raised eyebrows, unable to stop her eyes from flickering over towards the camp; Daryl was still tinkering with his motorcycle, looking a bit lost in his own thoughts. "I didn't think he had it in him to say something nice about me."

"Yeah, well, don't tell 'im I told ya." Rick countered quickly, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "He'd probably shoot me." Jenna laughed for a moment, shaking her head to herself in amusement. Once her laughter died off, silence fell between them again – after a few more moments, Rick spoke again. "So I have'ta ask – why Fort Benning?" He inquired curiously. "I'm sure there were plenty'a refugee camps along the way. Why come this far?"

Sam's face quickly flashed across Jenna's mind, effectively ending her short-lived amusement and leaving her with a strange feeling in her heart. She sucked in a deep breath before answering. "My brother's at Fort Benning." Jenna revealed quietly, deciding to tell Rick the truth. Then she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Or at least…I'm _hoping _he's still there." She added.

Rick nodded in understanding. "You comin' here makes a lot more sense now." He commented. Then he reached up to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, making Jenna meet his gaze again. "I hope your brother's there too, Jenna." Rick told her sincerely. "I hope ya find 'im."

"Me too." Jenna said with a nod. "He's the only family I have left now."

Silence passed between them for a long moment until Rick glanced in the direction of camp, as though ensuring nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. "Jenna, what'cha said earlier…" He started, keeping his voice low as he changed the subject. "You know, 'bout there bein' more things'ta worry 'bout than just walkers on the highways – ya wanna elaborate on that a bit more now?"

Jenna pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest, also glancing towards the camp – Shane had turned a curious stare in her and Rick's direction, but he wasn't making any moves to come and join them. "You ever heard of highway bandits?" She asked slowly, refocusing on Rick.

"No..." He told her with furrowed eyebrows. "But if I had'ta guess, they're probably thieves that post up on the highways and attack people ridin' through – am I close?" Rick then asked, quickly putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his head.

"Pretty close." Jenna confirmed. "We ran into several survivors on the way in that had gotten attacked by them. They lost their food, supplies, weapons..." She revealed – then she hesitated, wondering if she should tell him that the people in question were half the reason why Jenna's group was no longer around; in the end, Jenna decided it wasn't the right time or place for a conversation about _that_. "They're _extremely _dangerous, Rick." She finished pointedly, her tone nothing but serious.

"Great…" Rick said with a heavy heave, his eyes flitting back over to the woods by the side of the highway. "Think there's any of 'em out here?" He asked, looking even more disturbed by the thought of Sophia alone in the woods now that he knew what other dangerous could be lurking nearby.

"It's hard to say…" Jenna admitted hesitantly. "There were tons of 'em on I-10, but that was when the interstate was still busy. Now that there aren't many people left, it's possible they could have started branching out to try and find survivors elsewhere." She then explained. "Regardless, we need to be on guard at all times if we're gonna stay camped here while we look for Sophia. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Rick had just nodded his agreement when, unexpectedly, the sound of a twig cracking echoed in the forest down below. Jenna and Rick both came to an abrupt halt before Rick raised his gun cautiously, the both of them looking to the forest with scrutinizing eyes as they tried to locate the source of the noise. For a few tense minutes they waited to see if something was about to emerge from the dark trees, but when nothing came out of the forest – not Sophia, not a thief, not even a walker – Rick lowered his rifle again with a heavy sigh. Jenna watched as his shoulders slumped before he reached up to rub his face tiredly.

"Might've just been a deer or something." She told him with a shrug, not wanting to jump to any conclusions about what had caused the sound.

"Might've..." Rick agreed half-heartedly.

Jenna could practically see the dark cloud hanging over Rick's head as he started walking again, continuing his patrol – before he could get too far, she spoke up again to grab his attention. "This isn't your fault, Rick." Jenna said quickly, finally breaching the subject she had been so hesitant to bring up. He froze and turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "What happened to Sophia…" Jenna continued. "It isn't your fault." She repeated.

Rick sucked in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, eyeing the forest again with a troubled look on his face. He was quiet for so long that Jenna didn't think he was going to say anything in return, but after a few moments he finally responded. "I'm not so sure…" He admitted uncertainly.

She frowned and took a few steps toward him. "You put your own life at risk to give a little girl a chance to live – it was the right choice to make." Rick still didn't seem convinced, so Jenna continued on. "Look, I'd have done the _same _thing if I had been in your shoes." She informed him matter-of-factly. "Yes, Sophia getting lost is horrible and unfortunate, but you _can't_ keep blaming yourself when you were just trying to do what you thought was best – it's only gonna make things harder."

"But what if we don't find – " He started to counter.

"Shut the hell up, Grimes – we'll find her." Jenna interrupted without hesitation, effectively ending Rick's argument. He seemed taken aback by her sharp words but didn't appear to take any offense. "And while we're on the subject, don't _even _think about sneaking off into the woods tonight to look for her either. Daryl was right when he said that being in the woods at night is dangerous." She told him firmly, recalling Daryl's words from earlier that evening when they decided to end the search for the night. "The last thing we need is for _you _to get lost too…or worse."

"And what makes ya think I was gonna sneak off?" Rick asked defensively – Jenna's only response was to give him a pointed once over, blatantly eyeing the numerous weapons decorating his person, before quirking a skeptical eyebrow at him. Rick let out a heave and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't miss anything, do ya?" He asked, noting her perceptiveness.

"It wasn't very hard to figure out." She retorted.

"I just wanted'ta have another look around. It's not like I was gonna go far." He instantly defended – his eyes turned in the direction of the camp before the same guilty expression he'd worn all evening reappeared on his attractive face. "I just…" Rick threw a frustrated hand up and shook his head, looking a little agitated. "I feel like I should be doin' _more_."

"And you will do more – _tomorrow – _when the sun's up again and when you have people to watch your back." When his eyes met hers again, it was obvious he wasn't entirely comfortable with idea of waiting until the next morning to search for Sophia again. "Listen…" Jenna started with a sigh. "I know that I don't _really _know any of you, but it's pretty easy to see that the others look up to you, Rick. I understand why you want to keep looking for Sophia and believe me, I respect you for it." She told him, trying a different approach. "But lumbering around in the woods _alone _and at _night _has death written all over it." She said firmly before pointing a finger in the direction of camp. "Those people rely on you way too much for you to go running headfirst into danger_._"

Rick seemed to contemplate what Jenna had just told him for a moment or two before he sighed and finally nodded in defeat. "…I guess you're right." He agreed, albeit reluctantly so.

Feeling like she had actually done a good deed of some sort by convincing Rick not to do anything reckless, Jenna smiled at him in approval then held a hand out, motioning for him to pass over his rifle. "Go and get some rest, you look like you're dead on your feet." She instructed. "Let someone else keep watch for a change."

"You sure?" He asked skeptically, hesitant to hand over his gun.

"Yeah." Jenna said with a nod. "I'm probably not gonna get much sleep tonight anyway. The woods always make me a little…edgy." She then admitted.

Rick only hesitated for another second before finally passing the rifle over. "Thought ya said you were shit with rifles." He accused – though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, Jenna could still see a grateful gleam in his eye.

"Oh, I am. But practice makes perfect, right?" Once she had his rifle securely in her hands, Jenna jerked her head in the direction of camp. "Go on, get." She commanded, shooing him away with a wave of her hand as though he were an unwelcome critter that had wandered too close.

He nodded, but lingered for a second so he could pat her on the shoulder. "You know, you're not half bad, Matthews." He told her, inclining his head. "Stubborn as a damn _mule_ – " Rick added, shooting a pointed look at her, " – but not bad."

"Yeah, back at ya, Grimes." Jenna responded with a smirk, not entirely sure why it pleased her so much to know that Rick approved of her. But then she pointed a finger at him in warning, a more serious expression overcoming her face. "But don't you _dare_ tell Dixon what I said about him being right, understand?" She instructed in a threatening tone. "That ego of his doesn't need any encouragement...and if you _do_ tell him, know that I am _not _above retaliation."

Rick actually let out a short laugh and nodded, holding his hands up in surrender. "Understood." Then he cracked a half-smile at her – he still looked tired and stressed, but his spirits seemed to have brightened at least a little bit. "Thanks for the pep talk."

Jenna inclined her head to him. "No problem." Then she started off down the road again. "See you in the morning, Do-Right." She said over her shoulder, offering a quick salute before starting her own patrol.

* * *

Jenna ended up keeping watch for almost half the night, only waking Shane up for his shift when she finally felt tired enough to overcome everything plaguing her thoughts and _actually_ try to get some sleep; the four measly hours Jenna managed to obtain were fitful and didn't leave her feeling very energized when she woke the next morning, but she supposed it was better than getting no sleep at all.

For reasons unbeknownst to her, Jenna received a few strange, almost _wary_ looks from the others once she was moving around the camp and preparing to join the search for Sophia. Though it confused her and left her with an odd feeling, she decided to just brush it off and pretend that she hadn't noticed when nobody made a move to talk to her about anything out of the ordinary. After finishing a small breakfast she went to her truck to grab the things she would need for the upcoming trek through the forest while everyone else prepared to depart as well - Jenna was making sure her handgun was loaded and ready to go when Rick went strolling past.

"Mornin'." He greeted politely – he'd chosen to don his police uniform, complete with the hat and badge, and was currently carrying a large leather case of some sort in his hands.

"Morning, Grimes." Jenna responded, slipping the handgun into the waistband of her pants as she trailed after him – they were headed in the direction of the RV, where the rest of the group had already congregated and was awaiting instruction. "Whatcha got there?" She asked nosily, nodding her head towards the case he was holding.

"Weapons, silent ones." He revealed. "Don't wanna attract any unwanted attention – gotta play this smart, 'member?" He added knowingly before stepping up to the car the group was crowded around and dropping the case onto the hood – Jenna found herself standing next to Daryl and the two acknowledged each other for a second before they, along with the others, watched as Rick started unraveling the case. "Alright…" Rick said to catch everyone's attention – the case, they soon discovered, contained an assortment of sturdy looking hand-tools. "Everybody takes a weapon."

Almost immediately, Andrea, whom Jenna had had little to no interaction with thus far, spoke up in protest. "These aren't the kinda weapons we need." She said with distaste. "What about the _guns_?"

Shane was the first to speak up, immediately launching into a short lecture and telling Andrea exactly why the rest of the group wasn't carrying – Jenna, as well as several others in the group, listened in slightly awkward silence as the blonde was put in her place, before one by one everyone started picking out their weapon of choice. Jenna finally stepped up to the pack of tools to see if there was anything that might catch her interest, but before she could reach for one of them Rick caught her attention and motioned for her to follow him off to the side.

Though a little confused, Jenna did as Rick had asked and followed him, sharing a brief look with T-Dog as they went past him. "What's up?" Jenna asked once they had come to a halt near the back of the RV and were out of the hearing range of the others.

"I actually need'a favor from ya, Jenna." Rick admitted, the expression on his face slightly apologetic. "I know ya wanna go on the search, but you'd really be doin' me a service if ya stayed behind 'n helped Dale guard the camp while we're gone."

"What?" She asked in surprise. "I thought you needed people to help look for Sophia, though?"

"We do." Rick admitted with a nod. "But after what ya told me last night, I think we need a little manpower _here _too." He explained so she would understand why he was asking this favor from her. "T-Dog's hurt, so he won't be able'ta do much. And Dale, well…he's…" Rick trailed off, waving a hand as he struggled to find the word he was looking for.

Jenna glanced over at Dale before raising her eyebrows at Rick. "_Old_?" She offered.

Rick pursed his lips for a second. "I was gonna say _slow_." He countered. Then he took a step closer to her and lowered his voice. "Look, I need someone that can fight'ta stay behind in case there's trouble, someone'ta protect the supplies." He told her with a pleading look in his eyes. "Can ya help me?"

Jenna immediately felt torn as to what was the right thing to do – part of her wanted to reject Rick's request and go searching for Sophia, because the more people looking the better the chance was that they would find her. But the _other_ part of her, the one that felt indebted to Rick for everything that he'd done for her, knew that it would be a better idea _not _to be stubborn and do what he was asking of her. She was still contemplating her answer when the group started to disperse and Shane came over to join them.

"Gettin' ready'ta head out." He told the pair, his eyes darting back and forth between Jenna and Rick for a curious moment. "Let's get'a move on." He then encouraged before turning around to leave, but not before shooting one last inquisitive stare in their direction over his shoulder.

Rick raised his eyebrows at Jenna, clearly expecting to hear an answer. "Well, whaddya say, Matthews?"

Jenna heaved, glanced towards the injured T-Dog, then finally nodded. "Alright." She gave in, though not without some reluctance. "I'll stay behind."

Rick immediately flashed a grateful smile and inclined his head in her direction. "Thank you." He told her sincerely.

"Yeah, yeah..." Jenna grumbled in response, earning herself an amused smirk from Rick before he patted her on the shoulder then wandered off to have a quick conversation with Dale. She let out another heave, a little disappointed that she wouldn't be joining the search, and shifted her eyes over to meet T-Dog's curious gaze. "Looks like it's me, you, and Dale today." She said, walking over to join him.

"Great, who's bringin' the keg?" T-Dog retorted dryly, making her smirk and shake her head.

T-Dog then leaned his head back against the RV and let out a long sigh, closing his eyes with a bit of a wince. He'd been looking worse for wear since obtaining the nasty gash on his arm the day before, but as Jenna gazed at him she realized that he was starting to look even bleaker – the smirk fell from her face as she eyed him with a frown of concern. "How're you feeling?" She asked uncertainly.

"Just peachy." T-Dog responded, not bothering to open his eyes.

Jenna chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, eyes dropping down to his bandaged arm. "Want me to take a look at that arm?"

T-Dog opened his eyes again and glanced down at his arm before shaking his head. "Nah, I think I'll be cool." He told her, forcing on a quick smile (which actually looked more like a grimace).

Jenna pursed her lips at his refusal but nodded anyway, not pressing the matter. She turned her attention back towards where the rest of the group was and saw that the conversation Rick had been having with Dale had come to an end – Rick called out a few last minute words of advice to those about to go into the woods then started off with Lori and Carl in tow. The rest of the group started to depart as well, ready to get the search underway, but went Andrea suddenly made a bee-line for Dale with an annoyed look on her face everyone hesitated, waiting to see what would happen. Dale's demeanor changed in an instant, shifting from calm and collected to much more defensive, but Andrea wasn't to be intimidated – she continued to glare at Dale, very obviously angry with the older man.

To say there was tension between Dale and Andrea was a huge understatement; she would have to be blind or stupid not to notice the friction between the two. Jenna wasn't sure what had caused the rift between the two companions, but with the way Andrea was looking at him, she could only assume that Dale must have done something to _royally _piss off the blonde.

"Andrea, I'm begging you." Jenna heard Dale start to plead as he attempted to avoid an argument. "Don't _put _me in this position…"

Andrea started to say something in response, but the injured man next to Jenna spoke up at the same time. "On second thought," T-Dog said with a long heave to catch her attention again – she tore her eyes away from the now arguing duo in time to see T-Dog pushing himself off the side of RV. "Probably wouldn't hurt'ta rewrap my arm – wanna help me?"

Jenna could tell that T-Dog just wanted to get away from Andrea and Dale. Though she was curious to know what was going on, she nodded her head anyway. "Sure." Jenna agreed. "Come with me, I've got some stuff in my truck we can use."

As they turned to leave, giving Dale and Andrea their space, Jenna noticed that most of the group was still (quite conspicuously) listening in on the ensuing argument with varying expressions of discomfort or, in some cases, irritation – she looked up at T-Dog in confusion as he fell into step with her. "What's that all about?" She asked him quietly, nodding her head towards where Andrea and Dale were still having words with one another.

T-Dog was hesitant to answer. "Ya might wanna ask Dale instead'a me." He finally suggested as they trudged along. "Ain't really my place'ta talk about it."

Jenna shot one last glance at Andrea and Dale over her shoulder when their argument escalated, but she didn't question T-Dog any further on the matter. When they reached her truck Jenna immediately ushered him into the driver's seat, then gently started unwrapping the bandage already protecting his wound to see what his injury was looking like. She pulled a face once the bandage was off and the cut underneath was revealed, then sighed and looked up at T-Dog with a frown.

"What?" He asked, looking a little bit alarmed. "Is it bad?"

"It isn't great." Jenna told him honestly. "You better keep an eye on this. It's starting to look a little infected." She instructed before reaching for her supply bag, retrieving one of her last strips of gauze and a canteen of clean water – Jenna opened the canteen and moved to pour some of it onto T-Dog's arm, but he stopped her movements with a quick hand on her wrist.

"Don't waste the water." He told her with a shake of his head.

Jenna quirked an eyebrow and deftly pulled her wrist free of his grip. "It's mine to do with as I please." She reminded him, shooting him one last look before pouring a small amount onto the cut and using the unsoiled side of his previous bandage to wipe it clean. T-Dog winced and hissed in pain but didn't put up any more resistance, simply clenched his fist and gritted his teeth when she started applying pressure to his wound.

"You 'n Daryl get your shit sorted out?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Jenna wasn't sure if he was genuinely curious or if he was just trying to distract himself from the pain. "I guess so." She answered noncommittally – she and Daryl hadn't really spoken that much, to be honest. But not talking to each other meant they couldn't argue, either, so Jenna figured that had to be an improvement of some sort. "I think we're both just trying to stay out of each other's hair for now."

"Prob'ly not a bad idea." T-Dog said through gritted teeth – then he smirked a little. "He's always been a hothead, but I'll be damned if youdon't know exactly what'ta say to piss 'im off…"

It was obvious her ability to get on Daryl's last nerve was something that he found to be entertaining. As T-Dog chuckled Jenna also had to laugh for a moment, then she shook her head in amusement and dabbed at his cut. "I guess it's a gift." She joked with a shrug of her shoulder – T-Dog just chuckled again.

By the time she'd finished getting the cut as clean as she could and had rewrapped T-Dog's arm, the rest of the group has taken their leave and disappeared into the woods. She hadn't been able to hear the majority of Dale and Andrea's argument since she and T-Dog were so far away, but as soon as she located Dale she could clearly see that the older man had been affected by the spat – he was mindlessly shuffling things around in the RV with a distracted look on his aged face when Jenna poked her head inside to see what he was doing.

She hesitated for a second before knocking a knuckle against the open door to catch his attention – the sound pulled him from his thoughts and he turned around to face her quickly.

"Oh." Dale said in surprise when he saw Jenna walking up the steps and into the RV. "I thought you'd be out lookin' for Sophia with the others."

"Rick asked me to stay behind and help you keep an eye on things." Jenna told him. Dale nodded his head but didn't say anything further – after a few silent seconds, Jenna tilted her head questioningly. "Is everything alright?" She asked tentatively.

Dale didn't hesitate before saying, "Oh yes, just as soon as we find Sophia and get on the road again." Then he quickly turned his back on her, making her frown a little. "I should have the RV fixed up soon, don't you worry."

Even though that wasn't what Jenna had been inquiring about, she recognized his attempt to dodge a conversation about his argument with Andrea; she chose not to press the subject. "That's good to hear." She said before taking a look around the RV. This was the first time she'd been inside the camper – Jenna liked it; it seemed cozy. "Nice place you got here." Jenna complimented.

"Thanks." Dale said in response, back still turned to her.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, Jenna came to the conclusion that Dale wasn't up for conversation and turned to leave so he could have his space. Once she was out of the camper she paused and placed her hands on her hips, looking around their mostly deserted campsite with a small frown – Jenna decided that she didn't just want to sit around like a bump on a log; she needed to find some way to make herself useful if she couldn't be out looking for Sophia.

She turned around to poke her head through the open RV door. "Hey, I'm gonna go look around for a bit." Jenna called to Dale. This definitely caught the older man's attention – he turned away from whatever he was fiddling with and walked closer to where Jenna was standing, peering down at her from the top of the steps with a frown. "I just wanna check out what's goin' on down the road and make sure there aren't anymore surprises. I won't be gone long."

Dale nodded hesitantly, but still didn't look overly pleased with her decision. "Okay..." He agreed uncertainly. "But don't go _too _far." He added pointedly.

"I won't." Jenna reassured him. "Keep an eye on T-Dog while I'm gone, that cut's starting to look bad."

"Sure thing." Dale agreed with a nod of his head.

With that being said Jenna flashed the older man a quick, reassuring smile, patted the RV, then turned to head for her truck. She was pretty sure that wandering off to scope out the surrounding area _wasn't_ what Rick had had in mind when he asked her to guard the camp, but the thought of staying put on the highway for only Lord knows how long made Jenna uncomfortable – she felt like she needed to take a look around not only to save her own sanity, but also to ease her own worries by making sure there was nothing nearby just waiting to make their trip even more difficult than it already was. So after retrieving her shotgun and shoving some extra bullets and shells into the pocket of her jeans, Jenna snatched up her binoculars and stepped away from her truck, wasting no time to head towards the clustering of vehicles cluttering the road ahead of the convoy.

"And where are _you_ goin'?" T-Dog asked curiously when Jenna walked past him. "I thought Rick wanted you'ta stay here."

"You gonna tell on me?" Jenna tossed at him, one eyebrow quirked upward – T-Dog shot her an unamused look in return. "I'm just gonna take a look around." She informed him matter-of-factly, continuing on down the road. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Whaddya expect'ta find?" He called after her next, watching her walk away with an unsure expression on his face.

"Hopefully nothing!" Jenna called back over her shoulder. "Be back later!"

Then she turned forward again, beginning to make her way through the seemingly endless lines of cars stretching out in front of her.

* * *

**Thoughts? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites, alerts…everything! **

**Now a friendly reminder – Like I said at the beginning of the story, I'm following the show's storyline but trying **_**not **_**to follow the show exactly how it pans out. So I'm gonna be changing some things up – including dialogue – but I'll still kinda try to capture the general gist of what happens the show, too. Cool? Cool. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 7_

After walking for a couple of miles in the scorching, Georgia heat, Jenna began to sorely regret her decision to not bring a bottle or two of water along for the journey – she hadn't thought she'd need it in the beginning because she'd planned to stick to her word and not go very far; her plans had changed about a mile into her trek, however, when she'd taken a long look through her binoculars and thought she saw signs of the road starting to clear up down the way. So here Jenna was nearly two hours later, dripping with sweat and throat burning with thirst as she trucked along the long highway to investigate and see for herself whether the road would be passable once the time came to leave – eventually the redhead started peeking into cars as she went past them, hoping to find some water or useful supplies, but unfortunately Jenna quickly discovered that most of the abandoned vehicles had already been cleaned out.

As she came across a car that had all the doors flung wide open, Jenna frowned and slowed her pace. Since just about every other car in the area was in a similar state of disarray she wasn't really sure why this particular one had caught her attention, but she paused by it anyway, eyeing the possessions that had been haphazardly strewn out in the street before leaning down to peer in through one of the open doors. The car had been ransacked, there was no doubt about that…but by _whom_ was what Jenna wanted to know.

The situation was starting to leave her feeling concerned, and for more than one reason. If she didn't come across any water anytime in the near future, it was possible that she was going to have to cut her journey short and go back to camp – the last thing she wanted was to have a heat stroke in the middle of nowhere or get so dehydrated that she wouldn't be able to make the journey back. But what also concerned her was this – though there was no way of knowing when someone had last been through these parts, the state of the vehicles around her had Jenna wondering whether or not their group was as alone on this road as they originally thought.

Jenna straightened up again and took a wary look around, sliding her shotgun off of her shoulder so she could wield it defensively in case there was trouble nearby. For a brief moment she contemplated whether she should just play it safe and start back in the direction of camp, but in the end Jenna decided that she had enough in her to go a little further. So she continued on.

As Jenna had hoped would be the case (because she'd been a little worried that the combination of heat and lack of a good night's sleep was making her hallucinate), the clustering of cars finally started thinning out after another half mile or so. And even though she _hadn't_ gathered very much useful information during her little escapade, at least now she knew what kind of obstacle course lied ahead whenever it came time to mobilize again – if nothing else, the information would prove to be of someuse once she relayed it to Rick.

For a moment Jenna imagined the look that would probably be on Rick's face whenever he learned of her impromptu solo mission. Even though she was fairly positive she'd end up getting an earful from the 'head hancho' for wandering off on her own, she couldn't help but smirk to herself when she imagined Rick waving his hands around in exasperation as he told her, yet again, how stubborn she was.

Quite suddenly she was reminded of the way Sam, whom had always been _extremely _overprotective of Jenna, would endlessly gripe at her whenever she did something reckless or stupid, dating back from their childhood all the way up to their adult years. She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a second as she continued along – now that she thought about it, Rick sort of reminded her of Sam in a weird way. Of course, her brother was a little bit more of a degenerate than Rick was – Lord knows he got into all _kinds_ of trouble before he enlisted in the military – but their personalities were fairly similar. They were both leaders and were always looking out for those around them, and Jenna imagined that if Sam had been put in the same situations that she'd seen Rick in, he probably would have handled everything the same way the police officer had.

Suddenly her willingness to trust Rick and follow his lead made a lot more sense to Jenna.

The cawing of a bird overhead drew Jenna from her thoughts in the next moment. She turned her eyes upward to look at it, shielding her eyes with her hand against the bright sun, then immediately came to a halt when something _else _caught her attention – a steady stream of grayish-black smoke was drifting up through the treetops and slithering up into the afternoon sky.

"What the…" Jenna asked aloud in confusion.

She took a few steps backward to get a better look, even climbed onto the hood of a nearby car so she could make herself taller – wherever the source of the smoke was it was somewhere tucked away in the forest, about a mile or so in if she had to guess. Jenna's first thought was that someone had probably started a fire for cooking, which if that was the case then she couldn't help but think that the person responsible was a complete _idiot_ for letting their fire get big enough to let off smoke like that; those flames and that smoke were probably attracting every mongrel in the forest right then.

Then she started to wonder if the person that had started it was just a novice, someone who hadn't had a lot of experience with building fires and didn't realize how big it would get…perhaps that someone was young, a teenager or even (heaven forbid) a _child_ that was on the run.

…maybe, just _maybe_, that someone was Sophia.

Jenna knew that the idea of the fire being related to Sophia was a little farfetched, but what if the girl was more resourceful than anyone had given her credit for? What if Sophia had found a place to hole up in and had started a fire to try and catch the group's attention, to signal to them where she was so they could find her easier? Jenna only contemplated these questions for a few more seconds before she jumped down from the hood of the car and started weaving through the ones in her path, determinedly making her way towards the guardrail – even though she'd been gone for a long time and knew that Dale and T-Dog would probably start to get worried soon (assuming they weren't already), if there was any chance that Sophia was nearby then Jenna simply _had _to go and take a look around, no questions asked.

But the instant that she started to hike her leg up and climb over the guardrail, fully intending to search the nearby trees, Jenna hesitated and eyed the forest she was thinking about waltzing into with caution. And as though someone had pulled a lever inside head, memories she'd warded off for a month started to resurface and race around in her mind…

OOO

"_You can run but you can't hide, little lady!"_

_The gruff, male voice echoed off the trees around Jenna, followed by a menacing cackle that sent chills down her spine. Tears were blurring her vision as she raced through the thick foliage, and even though she had absolutely no idea where she was or where she was going, Jenna pushed herself harder and forced her feet to keep moving. She ran as fast as the forest would allow her, hardly even aware of the cuts that were opening up on her arms as tree branches and sharp bushes scraped against her skin. _

"_We'll find you!" Another man's voice shouted, making her heart hammer even harder against her chest. "And when we do, you gonna wish you was dead!" _

_Jenna stumbled on a root and nearly fell flat on her face, but somehow managed to catch herself on a nearby tree before she could go tumbling to the ground. She only hesitated for a second, gasping for air as she cast a fearful look behind her, before she took off racing again…_

OOO

Jenna shook her head and lowered her leg back to the ground, breathing a tick harder as she tried to force the terrifying memory away. So many horrible things had happened in the woods that night, things that continued to haunt Jenna to this day – could she _really_ go in there now? Did she have it in her to face her fears and go trekking into this unknown forest after all of the awful things that had happened to her in settings just like this? If it _was _Sophia trying to flag someone down then there was no doubt in Jenna's mind that the young girl needed her help. On the other hand, if it _wasn't_ Sophia, if it was someone much more _dangerous_…well, things could go from bad to worse very quickly.

While Jenna stood there and fretfully contemplated her decision, another sound finally registered in her ears. It was an odd rumbling that sounded very much like the hum of a running car engine, and it was so unexpected that it was enough to draw Jenna's attention away from her current dilemma – she looked to her left with curious eyes, scanning the road for anything that might be responsible for the noise, until her gaze finally landed on a lone truck about twenty feet away. The truck seemed to have come from the direction that Jenna and the others were trying to go because it was facing the way of their camp, but that minute detail wasn't what made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end – it was the fact that the doors were wide open, that one of the windows was busted out, and that the engine was still running that had her straightening up in alarm.

Jenna glanced around to check for signs of the vehicle's owner but saw nothing else out of the ordinary. All of her gut instincts were screaming at her to turn around and hightail it out of there, but the scene was simply too odd _not_ to investigate it – a busted up truck in the middle of nowhere with the engine still running but no sign of human life? Jenna had to know what the hell that was all about.

A little voice inside her head started internally yelling at her for how big of an idiot she was being once she stated taking slow, cautious steps in the direction of the truck, but Jenna ignored it and warily made her way over, raising her gun a little higher as she closed in on the truck. The beeping sound that signaled an open car-door became audible once she was a few steps away, but other than that there were no other sounds – she sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever she might be about see, before taking a quick step around the open door to see if anything was in the cab.

She'd been half-expecting something to jump out at her, but to Jenna's relief nothing of the sort happened. What she _did _see inside, however, still left her feeling a bit nervous – there weren't many possessions in the truck, just a few maps scattered around and some emptied out duffle bags in the backseat, but a good portion of the cab was covered in broken glass and a dark, red liquid that she immediately recognized to be blood. Jenna frowned and swiped at some of the sticky liquid with her fingertip – the blood was cold, letting her know that some time had passed since whatever had happened here went down.

Jenna wiped her finger clean on her pants and took a step back from the truck, eyeing it critically. Anything could have happened here really – for all she knew someone could have turned while they were in the truck and gotten put down by a travelling companion, which would account for all of the blood and general state of chaos inside. But as she stepped around to the driver's side and inspected the vehicle further, Jenna quickly realized that might _not _have been the case after all.

Decorating the driver's side door were at least five bullet holes, all looking to be _incoming _rather than outgoing.

Jenna moved away from the truck and raised her gun up higher, looking towards the forest with accusing eyes again. The smoke in the woods, the abandoned truck that looked like it was very possibly the victim of an ambush – to anyone else it probably would have seemed like a strange coincidence, but to Jenna it seemed like a lot more than that; she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the two were connected, which meant there could be trouble in the area.

Jenna didn't know if the fire in the woods was started by Sophia or not, wasn't sure if the scene she'd just found was the stage of an attack, and, if that _was_ the case, didn't know if the culprits were still nearby, but she wasn't about to stick around and find out the hard way; as badly as she wanted to look for Sophia, she knew it would be smarter to wait until she had backup to go into this particular part of the wood.

So without another second of hesitation, Jenna decided to leave the scene behind for now and turned back in the direction of camp, breaking into a jog in her haste to clear the area.

* * *

The second Dale saw Jenna approaching he came stomping over to meet her with an agitated look on his face.

"Jesus Jenna, where have you been?" He demanded to know in a very stern tone. "And what happened to not being gone long?" He added with a note of incredulity. "You've been gone for _hours_ – you could've been _dead _for all we knew!"

Jenna shot him a glance as she finally stepped into the boundaries of their camp, breathing hard from the excursion of her quick journey back, before crouching down by the pile of supplies to pluck up a bottle of Gatorade. She unscrewed the lid and greedily gulped down the contents of the bottle, letting out a heavy sigh once she'd quenched her thirst. All the while Dale continued to stand over her with his hands on his hips, watching her expectantly and clearly waiting for her provide him some answers – Jenna briefly wondered if she should tell him about the unsettling scene she'd stumbled upon, but then decided against it; the last thing she wanted to do was cause a panic when she didn't know what had _really _happened.

"I went to see how far the traffic jam stretches." Jenna finally answered Dale as she stood to her full height again – it wasn't a _complete _lie, but it wasn't really the whole truth either. "I ended up going a little further than planned. Sorry for worrying you."

Dale's irritation dissipated some, but he still let out a sigh and shook his head at her disapprovingly. "The next time you say you aren't going far, _don't go far _– understand?" He said, looking like a parent scolding their child as he pointed a stern finger at Jenna.

She nodded in agreement and then glanced around, searching the camp for their other comrade. He was nowhere in sight. "Where's T-Dog?" She asked in mild concern – Dale turned to point to the cars on the other side of the road. When Jenna followed his gaze, she could see the top of T-Dog's bald held popping in and out of sight as he rifled through the abandoned vehicles. It was good to see him up and moving around, but Jenna still frowned at Dale questioningly. "How's he doing?"

Dale frowned and turned his eyes back to Jenna uncertainly. "That cut's not looking good at _all_." He told her truthfully. "I'm almost _certain_ he's on his way to a blood infection."

Jenna heaved and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Shit…" She said with a shake of her head, turning a frustrated look on Dale. "First the RV breaks down, then Sophia goes missing, now T-Dog's hurt – could anything else go wrong?" Then Jenna remembered the truck she'd found and heaved again, because _yes_, there was so much more that could go wrong if a gang of bandits were indeed camped out only a few miles away.

"I'm starting to think that anything that _can_ go wrong _will_ go wrong." Dale responded with a hint of cynicism. The older man turned his eyes back to T-Dog for a moment, watching him search around, before he glanced down at Jenna. "Wanna help us look for medicine in these cars?" He asked, nodding his head towards the vehicles.

At any other time Jenna would have agreed to help, but after what she had just seen she thought it a much better idea to post up on the roof of the RV and keep a close eye on the road. "Actually I'm gonna take a breather." Jenna excused. "Why don't I keep watch while you and T-Dog look around?"

"Alright." Dale said before patting her on the shoulder, readjusting the gun hanging from his shoulder, then starting off across the median to join T-Dog.

The majority of the afternoon was spent sitting on top of the RV and keeping her eyes firmly trained on the highway stretching off into the distance. The smoke she'd spied coming up through the trees back at the damaged truck was no longer visible now that she was at camp, but she wasn't sure if it was because the smoke was just to weak to see from that far away or because the fire causing it had been put out – Dale didn't say anything to Jenna about it, so she assumed he was none-the-wiser either way.

As Jenna kept watch she tried not to look _too_ alarmed or alert – until she knew exactly what had happened she wasn't going to do or say anything that would cause Dale and T-Dog any unnecessary stress during an already taxing time – but, truthfully, with each hour that passed by, her concern about the scene she'd stumbled upon starting eating away at her more and more.

Had the truck been attacked? If so it could only be the work of highway scum, which brought on these questions next – how many bandits were there and how heavily armed were they? And if it was an attack, why hadn't she and the rest of the group been able to hear it? Clearly if the truck's engine was still running then it couldn't have been _too _long of a time period since the truck had been in use – the gunshots would have reverberated off the trees, should have been audible from their position only a few miles down the highway.

Jenna sighed and ran a hand through her hair, trying not to let herself get too carried away with her troubling thoughts – there was still a possibility that she wrong about everything, that she might be reading into it too much and getting worried for nothing; the possibility was _slim _of course, but still there regardless.

There was one thing she _did _know for certain, though, and that was the sooner the rest of the group got back, the better – Rick would definitely want to know about what she'd found, especially if it was something that could pose a threat to the group. They'd need to come up with a plan, maybe even find a safer, less exposed place to camp instead; their presence on the highway might have gone undetected so far, but they were a large group and it was only a matter of time before they attracted attention…then Jenna remembered that Sophia was still out there somewhere and sighed heavily, realizing in that moment how complicated everything was becoming – staying could mean trouble for the group, but if Sophia managed to make her way back to the camp then someone _needed_ to be there to collect her, plain and simple.

"How ya doin' up there?"

Jenna glanced down when she heard the voice of T-Dog and saw that he had taken a seat on a crate down below. He was taking advantage of the shade that the large RV provided and leisurely leaning back against the side of the camper while smoking a cigarette (though she wasn't sure where he'd found a pack of cigarettes).

"Gettin' a pretty good tan." She told him jokingly in an attempt to lighten the mood some. "How 'bout you?"

T-Dog snorted and flicked some of the ashes off the end of his cigarette. "Livin' the dream." He told her sardonically. Then he lifted his eyes to her and raised the pack of cigarettes, shaking the box. "Want one?" T-Dog offered.

"Nah, I don't smoke." Jenna declined with a shake of her head. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Suit yourself." T-Dog said in response before dropping the box into his lap and taking a long drag from his cigarette.

Jenna eyed him for a few moments, trying to determine if he was getting better or worse – it wasn't looking very good. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked.

"No." T-Dog answered truthfully. "Didn't find anything other than some damn Ibuprofen in them cars, neither – ain't nothin' useful anywhere. Everything's gone." Jenna frowned at hearing that. _Probably swiped by bandits_, she thought to herself with a frown – Jenna raised her binoculars to her eyes again and checked the road for what had to be the hundredth time; there was no unexpected movement to be seen, but Jenna still didn't feel any relief because of that. "Man…" T-Dog continued. "All these geeks walkin' around and I'm'a go out 'cause of a damn _cut_ on my arm – ain't that some shit?" He asked with a huff.

Jenna lowered her binoculars again and turned sympathetic eyes on T-Dog. "You'll be fine." She told him encouragingly, trying to keep him optimistic. "We'll get you the help you need."

T-Dog glanced up at her. "Oh yeah? And where's that at?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

Jenna pursed her lips uncertainly; that was a _damn _good question. "I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out." She said with a half-hearted smile and a shrug before turning her eyes back to the road ahead.

About forty-five minutes later Dale ended his search for abandoned supplies and rejoined Jenna and T-Dog at the camper, and by then the sun was just starting to begin its descent into the horizon. Jenna pried her gaze off of the highway to look towards the forest, tapping her foot impatiently – where were the others? Why hadn't they returned yet? The sun would be down within the next hour or so and they _all_ knew the danger that came with being in the woods at night. And the _last _thing anyone needed was anymore trouble; a flashlight in the dark woods would be like a damn beacon, a signal to every walker or bandit in the area that vulnerable survivors were nearby just waiting to be ambushed or eaten.

Jenna sighed heavily and began to pace the length of RV, her eyes darting back and forth between the highway and the trees – she'd hoped that she could speak to Rick about the possible threat down the road an get some sort of plan to keep the group safe formed _before _the sun went down; at the moment it wasn't looking like that was going to happen.

"Damn man – _open your eyes! _Look where we are! Stuck in this mess here!"

Jenna's pacing came to a quick halt when T-Dog's shouts reached her ears – up until that moment, the conversation that he and Dale had been having down on the street had been too muffled for Jenna to hear, so she hadn't been paying them any mind. But now that T-Dog was shouting indignantly while Dale tried to shush him, she frowned and walked up to the edge of the RV to look down at them.

"Guys, what's going on?" She asked uncertainly.

Dale eyed T-Dog for a minute, watching as the man rubbed his forehead and pulled a pained face, then looked up to Jenna with a clueless shrug – he opened his mouth to say something, but T-Dog beat him to the punch. "Let's just go." T-Dog urged. "Let's just…take the RV."

T-Dog's words surprised Jenna as much as they did Dale – the older man immediately jumped to his feet and stood over T-Dog, regarding the man with furrowed brows and looking at him as though he'd lost his ever-loving mind. "You've gone off the deep end." Dale accused.

"I mean it, man." T-Dog instantly argued back. "Why we on the side'a this road like live bait?" He breathed heavily for a second, glanced up at Jenna, then turned his attention back to Dale. "Let's go – you, me, and Jenna." He continued with a nod. "The three of us…we can make it. We'll be good." Then he looked to the forest, as though checking to make sure the others weren't walking up. "Let's get outta here before they get back."

What T-Dog was saying was making Jenna both a little worried and a bit uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure if it was her place to speak up or not – she and Dale shared another look before the older man slowly stepped closer to T-Dog, extending a hand in his direction. The injured man immediately backed off and looked at Dale with untrusting eyes, but Dale simply held up his other hand in innocence before finally placing a hand on T-Dog's head to check his temperature – the second he touched T-Dog's forehead, his eyes went wide as saucers.

"Oh my God – you're burnin' up!" He exclaimed.

That was enough to have Jenna abandoning her post on the roof of the RV and heading for the ladder to make her way down onto the street. By the time she was ground level again Dale had already forced T-Dog to take some of the Ibuprofen that he'd found – Dale looked to Jenna in concern once she was by his side. "This isn't good…" He told murmured, eyeing T-Dog with worried eyes.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Jenna asked with a frown, running a hand through her hair stressfully.

"Not unless you've got a stash of meds hidden away somewhere." Dale answered with a huff. Then he looked out toward the trees, his forehead creasing as he frowned deeply. "Where the hell are they?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Jenna said, also looking to the forest. "I'd have thought they'd be back by now…" When Dale suddenly snatched up his gun, looking at the forest like he was about to go walking in, Jenna placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Don't even think about it, old timer." She warned in a stern tone. "We're split up enough as it is without you getting yourself lost – we'll just have to wait it out."

"And if they don't come back?" Dale shot at her. "What then? T-Dog needs help!"

"I know he does, Dale." Jenna argued back sharply. "The others _are_ coming back, and when they do we'll figure everything out then, alright? So keep your damn hat on."

She didn't want to argue with Dale on the subject anymore, so she pinned him into place with one last firm stare then headed to the bed of her truck to snatch up one of her blankets. Once it was in hand Jenna went back over to where T-Dog was sitting – he cracked an eye open as she approached but closed it again, letting out a heavy sigh. "Don't need it…" He protested.

"Yes, you do." She countered sternly, forgoing any attempt to go about it politely and grabbing him by the shoulder to force him away from the RV. He scowled at her but didn't protest any further, just grumbled under his breath and sighed heavily again as she securely wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. "My mother used to do this whenever I was sick to help break the fever." Jenna informed him. "It'll make you sweat it out."

"Maybe he should – " Dale started to say.

But in the next moment the sound of a screaming female suddenly filled the air, making Dale's words abruptly die on his lips. Jenna shared a sharp look with the older man before they both had their guns in hand and at the ready in the blink of an eye, the two quickly turning their attention to the nearby trees.

"That sounded like Andrea!" Dale hissed at her worriedly.

Jenna frowned and then started for the guardrail, gun still raised. "Stay there." She commanded over her shoulder when she heard him start to follow her – Dale did as he was told, though not without a note of reluctance.

Jenna's mind was already racing with the possibilities of what might have caused the scream they'd just heard – was someone hurt? Had the group run into some walkers? Or, even worse, had they bumped into a gang of highway scum? Jenna raised her shotgun a little higher as she reached the guardrail and peered down at the forest untrustingly, never once letting her guard down. But when nothing happened after a couple of tense minutes, Jenna lowered her gun a little and glanced back at Dale, shrugging an unsure shoulder at him.

"Nothing?" He asked warily as he readjusted the gun in his hands.

"So far…" She confirmed before turning her attention forward again.

Nearly ten anxious minutes stretched on without anything unexpected happening but Jenna didn't dare move away from her post at the guardrail, still not completely convinced that everything was copasetic just yet. When she took a second to glance around and make sure that nothing – or _nobody_ – was trying to sneak up on them, Jenna noticed that T-Dog had gotten up and wandered towards the back of the RV. She caught Dale's eyes then nodded her head in T-Dog's direction, silently telling him to go check on the injured man; Dale nodded and went to T-Dog's side while Jenna shifted her attention to the trees again.

_Come on guys, _she silently encouraged, praying they would return soon and end this torturous wait.

Finally, as if somebody had heard her thoughts, the sound of rustling down below reached Jenna's ears about a minute and a half later. Though every part of her hoped and prayed that it was just the group returning from their day in the woods, given the circumstances Jenna wasn't about to take any chances – she cocked her shotgun and raised it up defensively again, aiming it in the direction the noise was coming from.

"Who's there?" She called down in a no-nonsense tone. "Identify yourself!"

For a quick moment her words were met with silence. Then, someone called back, "It's us!"

Jenna let out an enormous sigh of relief and instantly lowered her gun when she recognized Glenn's voice – after a few more seconds the group came into view, each of them looked equally as dirty and on edge. "About damn time." She called down to them irritably as they trudged up to the highway. "What the hell took so long?"

"It's a long walk." Glenn huffed at her, the expression on his face clearly stating that he was in no mood to be lectured. Once he cleared the guardrail he stopped in front of her, a frown immediately turning his lips downward. "Jenna, there's been an accident – Carl got shot."

Of everything that Glenn could have possibly told her in that moment, _that_ was the absolute _last _thing Jenna had expected to hear. "_What_?" She asked incredulously, unable to believe what she'd just heard - when she took another look around the group, she noticed that there were indeed people missing; neither Rick, nor Lori or Shane or the apparently injured Carl had returned to the campsite as planned. "Shot by _who_?"

Dale suddenly appeared at her side, clearly having overheard her short conversation with Glenn. "Shot?" He asked with a frown, glancing back and forth between Jenna and Glenn for answers. "Who's been shot?"

"Carl." Jenna answered with a weary sigh, watching as Dale's eyes went wide with shock before turning back to Glenn and the others; they all looked tired and discouraged as they filed back into the campsite. "How in the hell did this happen?" Jenna asked Glenn, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't know, we weren't there." Glenn answered, still trying to catch his breath from the long trek back. "We were making our way back when some chick came riding out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." He quickly explained. "She took her to some farm nearby or somethin'."

Dale immediately turned his attention to Daryl when the crossbow-wielding man came stepping over the guardrail. "And you just _let _her?" He demanded to know, looking very upset with the fact that Daryl had allowed such a thing to happen.

"Climb down outta my ass, old man – Rick sent 'er." Daryl shot at him gruffly as went stomping past. "She knew Lori's name and Carl's." He spared Jenna a brief look as he went by but didn't stop to say anything more, just headed toward the supplies and immediately retrieved a bottle of water for himself.

Jenna ran a weary hand over her face as the others started talking amongst themselves, discussing their newest situation – apparently she'd spoken far too soon when she'd asked Dale if anything else could go wrong; now _Carl_ was _shot_ on top of everything else? The group's list of problems was only growing longer and she pinched the bridge of her nose, releasing a frustrated sigh when she remembered that their troubles were still far from over.

_Now what do we do?_, she wondered to herself. Jenna thought about it for a second before turning her eyes over to Daryl – as painful as it was to admit it, if there was anyone that could take charge of the group in Rick's absence, it was him. Things were already starting to get more hectic but there was still more that could go wrong – _someone _had to know about what she'd found, _someone _needed to know that there might be something else nearby that could pose a threat to what was left of the group…and since she couldn't talk to Rick about it, she supposed it was Daryl that she'd have to go to.

At the moment he was drinking his water and eyeing T-Dog with a scrutinizing expression, but when Jenna started in his direction his gaze quickly shifted to her. "This is turning into a shit-show." She said with a frown when she reached him – they both watched for a brief moment as Andrea went storming into the RV and slammed the door behind her, then turned their attention back on each other.

"Tell me somethin' I don't know." Daryl retorted dryly, taking another gulp of water. Then he motioned toward T-Dog. "How's T?" He inquired.

Jenna pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Not good – it's looking like a blood infection. If that farm Glenn mentioned has medical supplies, we _need _to get T-Dog there." She explained, stressing her point so that Daryl understood how dire T-Dog's circumstances were becoming. "If he doesn't get some antibiotics soon he isn't gonna make it."

Daryl let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "Shit keeps gettin' better 'n better, huh?"

In the next moment an idea seemed to strike him, because a thoughtful expression suddenly crossed Daryl's face before he held up a finger, signaling Jenna to hang on for a moment as he headed for his motorcycle. Jenna watched in curiosity as he crouched down by the saddlebags and rifled around in them until producing a large Ziploc bag full of pill bottles. He ignored her skeptical-slash-questioning look as he rejoined her – after fishing around in the bag of pill bottles for a moment he located the one that he wanted, then handed it over to Jenna.

"Give 'im a few'a those." Daryl told her. "It should hold 'im over 'til we can get 'im help."

Jenna's eyebrows rose in surprise as she took a moment to read the label – the medication wasn't prescribed to Daryl, but to someone named Merle. "Who's Merle?" She had to ask curiously.

"My brother." Daryl answered shortly.

Jenna 'hmph'ed thoughtfully, noting that little piece of information about Daryl, then continued reading the label on the bottle. "Oxycycline." She read aloud, recognizing the name of the medication. "Pretty strong stuff – what did he take these for?"

Daryl shrugged a shoulder. "He got the clap on occasion." He answered bluntly, making Jenna pull a face. Daryl then turned to walk back to his motorcycle and put the rest of the pill bottles back in their designated spot. "Now are ya gonna give 'im those pills or are ya gonna ask me asinine questions all day?" He tossed at her over his shoulder, a pointed look on his face.

Jenna had just heaved at Daryl with a flat expression on her face when Glenn suddenly appeared at her side. "What's that?" He asked curiously, craning his neck so he could read the label over Jenna's shoulder. "Oxycycline? What's this for?" He asked them, motioning to the medication.

"For T-Dog." Jenna said, plopping the pills in Glenn's hand. "He's getting worse – he's got a blood infection."

Glenn's shoulders sagged. "Great…" He said, looking thoroughly disheartened. "I hope these help then..." He said, shaking his head before turning to make his way over to T-Dog with the pills in hand.

After Glenn left to give their injured companion the medicine, Jenna sighed and turned her attention back to Daryl – she shot a quick look over towards Dale and Carol to make sure they weren't listening in on their conversation before taking a few steps closer to him. "Hey…I need to talk to you about something." Jenna told him quietly, deciding there was no time like the present to tell him about what she'd found. "And it's kinda important."

Daryl frowned a little, looking somewhat hesitant – maybe even a little _worried _– to know what this 'important' matter was. "'Bout what exactly?" He asked cautiously.

But before she had the chance to tell him anything, Dale came walking over to join them. Jenna and Daryl shared a look before focusing on the grey-aired man when he let out a heave. "Did you tell him about T-Dog?" Dale asked Jenna.

"Yeah." She confirmed with a nod. "Daryl had some meds on him, thank God. Now we just have to hope it'll be enough to start fighting the infection."

Dale heaved again and then shook his head. "That's good news, but I just don't know if it'll be good enough by this point." He said slowly, a skeptical expression on his bearded face. "T-Dog needs professional medical attention – that infection is _serious_ and for all we know we got those meds to him too late."

Jenna was fairly certain she knew where this conversation was going. "So what're you suggesting, then?" She still asked him.

Dale pursed his lips and shifted on his feet for a second, sending a meaningful glance back at Carol before finally speaking again. "I say we pack up and head for that farm. If they're takin' care of Carl they can take care of T-Dog, too." Dale said in a low tone so he wouldn't be overheard.

Though that was what Jenna had been expecting him to say, she still had mixed emotions about heading for the farm, and judging by the look on his face, Daryl seemed a little unsure of the idea as well. This mystery farm – wherever it was – could have everything that they needed, not to mention at least a fourth of the group. But at the same time, the fact still remained that Sophia was missing and the only location she knew to search for was the camp they had made right there on the highway. If what Jenna had found earlier meant that there _was _trouble nearby, then the group definitely needed to find a safer place to stay…yet on the other hand, the mere thought of leaving Sophia out there alone and defenseless against a gang of barbaric highway bandits was enough to have the bile rising up in her throat.

"And what about Sophia?" Jenna countered pointedly. "What if she comes back and we're gone?"

"Gone?" Another voice suddenly interjected, bring their conversation to a quick halt. "Why would _we _be gone?" Jenna, Dale, and Daryl immediately shifted their attention over to Carol – she had a deep frown on her face and her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing the three of them with obvious anger. "I don't know what you're discussing but we are _not _leaving." She informed them in a sharp, matter-of-fact tone.

Dale shot a look at Jenna and Daryl before walking over to Carol and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Carol, the group is split – we're scattered and _weak._" He stressed to her urgently. "And T-Dog is _really _sick. He needs help – "

"And what about my little girl?" Carol interrupted sharply, shrugging Dale's hand off her shoulder. "What about the help _she _needs?" She then shook her head adamantly and "We can't all leave. Not when we still don't know where my baby is."

Everyone went deathly silent as Carol looked to each of them with pleading eyes, searching for some form of support. Jenna sucked in a deep breath, looked out toward the trees, then brought a hand up to run it through her hair. She knew that going to the farm would be the ideal option – there was medicine there, most likely plenty of food, and it would not only get the group back together but also get them off this God-forsaken highway. But as badly as she wanted to retreat to this new possible safe haven, her desire to find Sophia and to find out what had happened down the road was just as strong. And when Carol turned that helpless, pleading look on Jenna, she immediately felt het heart twist with guilt – Carol had done a lot to try and make her feel welcome and comfortable in the group; she _wanted _to help her, felt like she owed it to the woman to try to find Sophia.

Before she could give her decision a second thought or find a way to talk herself out of it, the words come tumbling out.

"Look, Dale's right." Jenna started, breaking the silence that had settled around them and causing every set of eyes to turn to her. "It's too dangerous having the group split up like this." Dale seemed pleased that she agreed with him and started to say something in response, but Jenna held a hand up to stop him. "But Carol's right, too – we can't all leave while Sophia is still in the woods." She continued. Jenna then sucked in a deep breath and hoped she was making the right choice before saying, "So…you guys go to the farm, get reconnected with the others." Jenna instructed. "I'll stay here and keep a look out for Sophia."

That definitely earned her some surprised looks from both Carol and Daryl – Dale, on the other hand, was not happy to hear her proposal. "What? _Alone_?" He asked incredulously, any relief he had felt evaporating in the blink of an eye. "Jenna, that is _not _safe. Not safe at all!" He immediately reprimanded, looking at her as though she'd lost her mind.

Once again Dale was right, but at least there was a small comfort knowing that it was much easier to avoid catching the attention of bandits and walkers when it was just one person as opposed to seven. "It'll only be for a couple days." Jenna argued back resolutely. "I'll just look around a little more then meet you back at the farm. It's no big deal."

"_No big deal_?" Dale argued back, looking completely flabbergasted now.

Glenn must have heard the escalation of their conversation, because he came hurrying over to join them. "What's going on?" He asked, looking between Jenna and Dale with a confused expression. "What's happening?"

Dale huffed and placed his hands on his hips. "Jenna wants to stay here and look for Sophia _by herself _while _we _go to the farm." He quickly updated Glenn with a stern frown on his face. As Glenn's eyes widened in surprised, Dale move a hand from his hip to motion exasperatedly in Jenna's direction. "Tell her how dangerous that is, Glenn!"

"Dale, I was on my own for a _month_ before you guys found me – trust me, I can take care of myself." She reminded him in a measured tone. Admittedly she wasn't sure who she was trying to reassure more, Dale or _herself_; she could handle being in the woods for a couple of days…right?

Dale still shook his head and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I don't like this – " He started to protest again.

"I'll stay too." Daryl's words made Dale's argument die on his lips – Jenna, as well as the others, all looked to him in blatant surprise. "Me 'n Jenna'll stay behind, check out the area a bit more." He continued with a resolute nod, using a tone that clearly stated he was not to be argued with. "Tomorrow we'll rig up a big sign fer Sophia, leave 'er some supplies 'case she comes back while we're out searchin' for her. In the mean time ya'll get T-Dog'ta that farm 'n reconvene with the others. We'll meet ya there few days from now."

"Well, if _ya'll _are stayin'..." Glenn started to say.

To Jenna's surprise (again), Daryl shook his head in refusal. "Just the two of us." He told Glenn firmly. "The less people to look out for, the better – we'll move faster and it'll be easier to watch each other's backs if it's just us."

"Thank you." Carol said with a grateful smile, reaching out to grab Jenna's hand so she could give it a firm squeeze. "Thank you both. You don't even know what this means to me..."

Any doubt that Jenna had felt about staying behind disappeared the instant she saw how relieved Carol was – she knew she'd made the right decision by choosing to stay and look for Sophia. "You're welcome, Carol." She told the short-haired woman with a small smile, squeezing her hand in return. Jenna then shifted her gaze over to Dale and raised her eyebrows, silently asking him if there was anything more he wanted to say on the matter.

Dale sighed and then shook his head. "Alright..." He agreed, though he didn't sound the least bit happy about it. "Alright. We'll mobilize and get T-Dog to that farm." Dale then pointed a stern finger at Jenna and Daryl. "But if there's trouble – _any trouble at all_ – you two pack up and head our way, understand?"

"Got it." Jenna agreed to appease him.

With that being said, the rest of the group hesitated for only a second before they started breaking off to begin packing up their things – Carol once again told them how grateful she was and Glenn wished them luck, while Dale lingered to place a hand on Jenna's shoulder before nodding to her with a half-hearted smile and then continuing on into the camper. Jenna watched him go, listening for a second as he called for Andrea (who had been inside the camper for the duration of the conversation), then turned her eyes over to Daryl.

She had absolutely no idea what had motivated him to stay behind with her, but Jenna did have to admit that she felt a bit better about the situation now that he was staying as well; she and the hot-headed Daryl didn't get along very well, that much was painfully obvious, but they _were_ a good team when it came to fighting walkers. And at least now she would have someone around that knew his way through the woods and would have someone to watch her back if they happened to run into any _human _enemies.

Daryl watched the others move about camp until he finally met Jenna's gaze. Now that it was just the two of them standing together he tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow, eyeing Jenna with what could only be described as skepticism. "Just me 'n you, red." He said slowly.

"Looks like it." She confirmed.

Daryl was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "Hope ya know what you're doin'."

Jenna nodded and laughed shortly to herself before shooting a sardonic smirk in his direction. "You and me both, Dixon." She admitted. "You and me both."

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**P.S. There's some good stuff comin' up in the next few chapters!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright, time to pick up a little speed!**

**Warning – There are mentions of things of a more morbid nature in this chapter. You're forewarned. **

**P.S. I've been toying around with the idea of writing from Daryl's point of view here or there, but I'm still undecided – would that be something that you guys would be interested in?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 8_

About an hour later, Jenna could be found standing by the bed of her truck with her arms crossed over her chest, watching as Dale's large RV and Carol's yellow Cherokee disappeared into the distance. There had been a round of goodbye's and well-wishes, as well as last minute words of advice from the others before they left – Carol had even snagged Jenna and Daryl's dirty laundry (despite Jenna's protests) with the promise of having it clean by the time they made it to the farm. But now that they had all left and it was just her and Daryl, the road and their camp had become eerily quiet.

Jenna sighed before casting a look over her shoulder to see what Daryl was up to. At the moment he was organizing supplies and moving things around in the camp, seemingly intent on finding something to keep himself preoccupied. She watched him for another second then turned around to slowly start making her way back into their now much smaller camp, leaning against the front of her truck when she reached it and feeling a little unsure where to go from there.

What were she and Daryl supposed to do now that it was just the two of them? Nearly every conversation between them had ended in an argument of some sort, while just about every task that either of them had carried out in contribution to the group had been done without the help of the other – were they supposed to make small talk by discussing the weather or chatting about the scenery? Were they supposed to do something horribly clichéd like sitting around a camp fire, singing Kumbaya, and revealing all of the nitty, gritty details of their lives to each other? Just the mere thought of her and Daryl _actually _making nice with each other was a little laugh-worthy – Jenna was fairly certain that he had too big of an attitude problem and that _she_ was too much of a smartass for there to be any hope for a friendship to grow between them.

Yet in spite of all of that, she did find herself wondering this – why had he chosen to stay with her?

Now Jenna had her own reasons for staying behind, of course – she felt that she owed it to Carol to help, she wanted the chance to look for Sophia, she _needed_ to find out what had been going on just down the road so that they wouldn't accidentally go headfirst into a trap. But Daryl? He could have easily retreated back to the farm with the others and left Jenna to fend for herself – she'd fully expected him to do just that, for a matter of fact – but he hadn't; he'd chosen to stay and help her despite the fact that he himself had been trekking through the woods all day long. Jenna would be the first to admit that his decision didn't make a lick of sense to her, but had to assume that _he_ must have had his own reasons as well.

She watched as Daryl lugged one of the large Ozarka jugs that Shane and Glenn had found the day before into their camp. His skin was nearly caked over in dirt and muck from his long journey through the woods and he looked like he could have used about three days worth of sleep, but Daryl didn't seem to be letting either of those things affect him – he simply continued on with what he was doing and started filling up water canteens, obviously preparing for their impending excursion.

…and it was then, in that moment, that it _really _hit Jenna.

Short tempers, sarcastic remarks, and petty squabbles aside, whether she liked it or not this crass, cranky redneck was going to be her only company, and only _backup_, for the next couple of days. And if they wanted to make it to that farm and back to the others without getting themselves turned into a couple of walking corpses, they were simply going to _have_ to come to a truce of some sort.

If there was _ever_ a time to attempt to smooth things over with Daryl Dixon, now was it.

Jenna pressed her lips together, sighed, then finally pushed away from her truck to head towards Daryl. He had already finished filling up a few small canteens and had retreated to his motorcycle, where he was digging around in one of the saddlebags for something. "Want something to eat?" She asked once she was only a few feet away – the offer seemed to catch him by surprise, because when he glanced back at her over his shoulder his eyebrows were raised a little. "You have to be hungry after walking around all day."

He was silent for a long second. "I could eat." Daryl finally answered a bit noncommittally before turning his attention back to what he was doing.

Jenna nodded and moved over to the mound of supplies that the others had left for her, Daryl, and Sophia (in case she returned). There wasn't very much to work with, just some assorted canned-goods, various boxes of crackers, a jar of peanut butter and an energy bar or two, but Jenna still plucked up a few things and started trying to figure out a way to turn them into something satisfying. The canned vegetables would taste a lot better if they were hot, but a wary look towards the forest nearby immediately had her rethinking the option of starting a campfire – the sun would be down soon enough and a fire could end up being a mistake; it might alert something, or _someone_, to her and Daryl's presence on the highway.

"Didn't ya need'ta tell me somethin' earlier?"

Since she hadn't expected Daryl to strike up any form of conversation with her, the question caught her off guard – Jenna pulled her attention away from their food situation and turned to answer Daryl, but the sight that awaited her when she did this instantly had her words dying on her lips.

As it turned out, Daryl had apparently been searching through his bag for a rag to clean himself up with – he had just shamelessly shed his shirt and was now using the rest of the water in the Ozarka jug combined with the rag in his hands to wash away the buildup of dirt and grime decorating his face, torso, and arms.

For a long moment Jenna stood in stunned silence, openly gaping at the bare-chested Daryl – he wasn't sculpted like a Greek God but it was more than obvious that he had a good deal of muscle on him; he looked strong, sturdy, and all-in-all very masculine…and _far _more appealing than she had ever taken notice of before that exact moment. She pressed her lips together, eyeing the numerous tattoos now on display, and tried hard to fight down the blush rising within her cheeks – Daryl was the first shirtless man she'd seen in a fairly long time, and, zombie apocalypse or not, she _was_ stilla red-blooded woman; the sight of his muscles rippling underneath his tanned skin as he cleaned himself off made it near impossible not to stare in appreciation.

So distracted was Jenna that she'd nearly forgotten Daryl had asked her a question – when it took her a moment too long to respond he paused in what he was doing to glance over at her with a questioning look. Jenna quickly snapped herself out of it and averted her eyes, blood finally rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment; she sincerely hoped he _hadn't_ caught her staring at him.

_Shit, what did he just ask me again?, _she internally struggled to remember whilst outwardly trying to act normal. "I'm sorry, what?" Jenna asked innocently, busying herself by turning away from him and shuffling through the supplies to locate a can opener.

"Earlier ya said ya had somethin'ta tell me." Daryl reminded her in a measured tone, sounding as though he were speaking to someone who was slow on the uptake. "What was it?"

"Right." Jenna said, now remembering her plans to report the details of her scouting mission to Daryl. "I went hiking down the road earlier today to see what all was lying ahead of us." She started to explain, "And I found some stuff that concerned me a little bit." Jenna diligently kept her eyes on the can she was opening as she talked to Daryl, refusing to take another peek at him or his naked torso. "There was some smoke coming up through the trees about three miles down and there was a truck in the area that looked like it might've been attacked."

"Attacked?" Daryl immediately questioned with a hint of unease in his voice. "By who? Walkers?"

Jenna shrugged a shoulder. "I'm thinking not." She admitted. "There were bullet holes in the driver's side door, so unless walkers have learned to shoot guns then it has to be something – or rather _someone _– else." Jenna finally chanced a look back at him to see how he was processing this information, then immediately felt her blush return when she realized that he was not only still shirtless, but focused intently on her – he had his arms crossed over his bare chest and the stance made the muscles in his arms and shoulders even more prominent. "I can't be sure…" She continued, dutifully holding his gaze. "…but there's a good chance it was a gang of bandits."

Daryl straightened up when she said this, the expression on his face suddenly very hard to read – she couldn't tell if he was concerned or if he was uncomfortable or if he was feeling a combination of both. "Bandits?" He repeated skeptically.

"Yeah." Jenna confirmed. "There's gangs of them that camp out along the highways just waiting to ambush passerby's. They're out for other people's supplies and don't have any problems killing anyone who gets in the way of what they want." She quickly explained before scowling and turning back to the can she'd just finished opening – talking about the highway scum effectively made all of the unexpected feelings that the half-naked Daryl had procured within her fade away, leaving her instead with a bitter taste in her mouth as she remembered all of the problems she'd had in the past with the people in question. "Those assholes are nothing but trouble."

"You tell anyone else 'bout this?" Daryl asked next.

"I told Rick there was a possibility they'd be around last night, but no, no one else knows about the truck." Jenna answered with a shake of her head. "I didn't wanna say anything until I got the chance to check things out a little more, figure out if that was what really happened – things are shitty enough as is without everyone getting even more panicky." Jenna turned to hand Daryl the can of vegetables and a handful of stale crackers – to her relief, he had finally donned his shirt again. "Can you imagine what it would've done to Carol if she knew there could be dangerous people in the same woods Sophia's in?" She asked him with a disconcerted frown.

Daryl nodded a little as he accepted the food that Jenna was offering him. "I see your point…" He said slowly. Then he seemed to think about what she'd told him for a moment or two before he said, "We'll go check it out in the mornin', see if we can figure out what went down 'n whether it'll be a threat'ta the group 'r not."

Jenna nodded, glad that Daryl didn't think her concerns were foolish and that he was willing to go back and check out the scene with his own two eyes. "Sounds like a plan." She said, holding his stare for a second before turning back to grab food for herself. "We'll need to keep a low profile while we're here though, just in case."

Daryl nodded in agreement. Then, as silence fell between them again, he started eating his dinner.

While Daryl dumped the canned vegetables into his mouth hungrily, not bothering to locate an eating utensil, Jenna headed back to her truck to see if there was anything else that she could add to their scant dinner – she spied the box of granola bars she'd found before joining the group and picked it up, pulling out two and keeping one for herself then tossing the other to Daryl. He caught it with ease and then watched as Jenna went to take a seat in the bed of her truck so she too could start eating her dinner.

Though another few minutes of silence ticked by as they ate, Jenna could feel Daryl's eyes on her the entire time – when she finally slid her eyes over to meet his gaze, there was a calculating look on his face. "These…_bandits..._" He finally started to ask when he noticed that he had Jenna's attention. "You had run-ins with 'em before?'

Jenna frowned and shifted her gaze back down to her can of food. "Yeah…" She answered a bit hesitantly – before Daryl had the chance to ask any more questions about it, she quickly spoke up again. "But I'd rather not talk about that right now if you don't mind." Jenna requested as she met his gaze again, the tone in her voice leaving no room for argument.

Though it looked like Daryl still wanted to know more about her history with this possible new threat, he nodded his head once. "Alright…" He said slowly, not prying any further.

Jenna offered a small, grateful smile then took another bite of food – after another stretch of silence passed between them, she finally had to ask the question that had been nagging at her for the past hour or so. "Why'd you stay behind?" She asked Daryl curiously, not bothering to beat around the bush. "Why didn't you go to the farm with the others?"

Daryl straightened up some, the move almost looking defensive. "Why'd _you _stay behind?" He countered challengingly.

Jenna, who was slowly starting to grow immune to Daryl's break-neck fast mood swings, shot him a pointed look. "I asked you first." She countered right back, one corner of her mouth pulling upward a little.

He seemed a little unamused with her somewhat childish retort, but he finally just shrugged a shoulder and shifted his eyes down to his dinner. "Group's all split up, Sophia's still missin', Carl's shot…" Daryl started to explain. "Figured it'd be a good idea to keep 'n eye on ya, make sure ya don't get yourself lost 'r killed on top'a everything." The knowledge that he had stayed behind to make sure nothing happened to her came as a shock, but before Jenna could really even process what that bit of information might've meant, Daryl snorted to himself. "Plus it was the only way'ta get Dale'ta shut the hell up…" He added aloofly, shooting a look in her direction.

Jenna nodded slowly, still watching him with slightly-surprised-slash-curious eyes. Was she reading into his words too much or was Daryl actually _concerned_ about what happened to his fellow group members underneath that rough exterior of his? She pondered this for another second until she realized that Daryl was watching her expectantly, clearly waiting to hear _her_ reason for not continuing on to the farm.

"Your turn, red." He prompted.

"After seeing that truck and knowing there could be so much danger out there…it just didn't feel right leaving Sophia to fend for herself." Jenna answered truthfully. "And I've been in her position before, so I know what she's going through right now." She then admitted. "Being lost and alone in the woods without food or protection is…_terrifying_." When Jenna chanced a look at Daryl the expression on his face lead her to believe that he wanted to question her further on what she'd just revealed to him, but to her relief he held his tongue. "Anyway…" She continued, happy Daryl had chosen not to be nosy. "I just wanted the chance to help. You guys have done a lot for me – seems only right that I do this for ya'll."

Daryl didn't say anything in response to that, merely nodded his head slowly in understanding. Jenna tried to decipher what the expression on his face meant but quickly discovered that she couldn't; he was utterly unreadable right then, giving absolutely no hint as to what was going on in his head right then or what he thought about Jenna's reason for staying.

"So…" Jenna said to change the subject, feeling a little vulnerable which, in turn, made her feel rather uncomfortable. "What're the possibilities Sophia might've caused that smoke I saw?"

Daryl finally wiped that indecipherable expression from his face and shrugged a shoulder at her. "I don't know that I'd immediately peg it on _her_, but I guess it ain't totally impossible." He told her honestly. "Still won't hurt'ta check it out." Daryl then finished off his sparse dinner and tossed the empty can away, wiping his mouth clean with his forearm for a moment before grabbing for his canteen of water. After taking a few generous gulps, he tossed it over to Jenna – she quickly scrambled to catch it then offered a grateful nod before helping herself to the water. "Ya know somethin'? I think this's the first time you ain't been'a complete smartass to me." He observed, crossing his toned arms over his chest as he regarded her. "You're not as irritatin' when you ain't mouthin' off all the time."

Jenna gulped down the water in her mouth before letting out a short laugh. "Thanks…I think." She told him with a hint of uncertainty. "Now that you mention it, I think this is the first conversation we've had that _hasn't _had me wanting to smack you in the face." Jenna continued thoughtfully – Daryl let out an unattractive sounding snort and rolled his eyes, the disbelieving look on his face clearly stating that he didn't think she'd actually do such a thing. She took his response in stride and smirked back at him. "Guess _you're_ not as irritating either when you're not being a total ninny-baby."

For a brief second Daryl seemed a little offended and looked as though he wanted to say something biting in response, but when he saw her fighting back an amused smile he immediately understood that she was just joking with him. "Funny." He stated flatly, not looking very amused at all.

Jenna just shrugged an innocent shoulder. "I try." She said with a sickly-sweet smile; she probably wouldn't admit it out loud, but messing with Daryl was actually starting to become kind of _fun_.

Daryl shook his head to himself, took a large bite of the granola bar she'd given him (which he seemed to be treating as a dessert of sorts), then turned to head over to his motorcycle. Jenna watched him go as she finished up her dinner, rather amazed that they were actually getting along for a change – maybe a truce between her and Daryl _wasn't_ as farfetched as she'd originally thought after all…then again, they had only been alone with each other for only a short while. There was still _plenty_ of time for them to revert back to their bickering ways.

Jenna glanced up at the sky, which had gone dark by now, before squinting to watch Daryl as he rifled through his bags again. He pulled out two flashlights and a jacket, pausing for a second to toss one of the flashlights to Jenna, before finally producing a large, rolled up blanket.

"We got a long day tomorrow, wouldn't be a bad idea'ta get some sleep." He recommended as he straightened up to his full height again, eyes also turning up towards the night sky for a quick moment. "You want first watch 'r second?" He asked, lowering his gaze back to Jenna's.

"I'll take first." She offered, knowing he was probably far more tired than she was. "You did a lot more than me today and you definitely look like you need the rest."

A grateful gleam flashed through Daryl's eyes for a quick second but he didn't vocalize it, just nodded his head. "Alright."

Daryl then turned and set down his flashlight and jacket before he started unrolling the blanket in his hands; Jenna could tell that he was about to make his bed for the night on the hard concrete since the RV was no longer available. "Sleep up here." She offered without really even thinking about it, motioning to the bed of her truck with a jerk of her head. "It's more comfortable than the ground."

Daryl froze and looked over at her unsurely. "What about you?"

Jenna just shrugged. "We can trade off."

He still seemed a little skeptical and took a moment to glance back and forth between Jenna's truck and his blanket, trying to decide what he wanted to do. After doing this for another few seconds, he finally seemed to come to a decision – Daryl leaned over to scoop up his jacket and flashlight then made his way over, sparing Jenna a look before hauling himself up into the bed of her truck and depositing himself on the pallet she'd already made there.

The truck jostled a bit as he shifted around, trying to make himself comfortable, and only stilled again once he was settled in – Jenna glanced at him over her shoulder and nearly rolled her eyes when she saw how blatantly uncomfortable he was with occupying her makeshift bed. "Don't worry, you won't get any diseases sleeping there – scout's honor." She reassured him with a hint of sarcasm.

Daryl, who was lying on his back with his arms crossed over his chest, didn't even crack an eye open to look at her as he said, "Don't go turnin' into'a smartass now…stop while you're still ahead, red."

Jenna couldn't help it – she stuck her tongue out at him childishly, glad his eyes were closed so he couldn't see her doing it. "Well, as my dad always said – better to be a smartass then a _dumbass._" She told him matter-of-factly; she couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or not, but Jenna thought she spied a smirk of what seemed like amusement on Daryl's face for a quick moment.

Daryl must have been even more tired than she had thought, because by the time Jenna had finished her dinner, taken a quick bathroom break, retrieved her shotgun, and finally reclaimed her spot next to him in the bed of the truck, it seemed as though he'd already fallen asleep – his breathing had evened out and she could see his chest steadily rising and falling in the moonlight. Jenna settled back against the truck and stretched her legs out across the bed, careful not to touch Daryl as she let out a long sigh and turned her eyes out to scan their surroundings…but after only a few moments, she found her gaze sliding back over to her companion on its own accord

Now that there was no risk of getting caught staring at him, Jenna allowed her eyes to roam freely over Daryl's form, the mental image of him bare-chested returning to her thoughts before she could stop it – she supposed she had never noticed his physique before because, well…it had just never crossed her mind that she _should_. Seeing as their relationship was a fairly volatile one, Jenna was usually too busy being angry or irritated with him and imagining all of the ways she could inflict injury on his person to stop and ponder over the man's physical appearance.

As Jenna's eyes shifted up to his face, which had a more relaxed expression on it now that he was asleep, she realized that Daryl actually _was _an attractive man.

Sure, he was scruffy and a little unkempt – definitely rough around the edges, too – but certainly not unfortunate looking. Daryl Dixon was attractive in that rugged 'manly-man' sort of way; he was the kind of man that had probably never had need for materialistic things, had no problems taking care of himself in extreme situations, and who probably possessed a skillset that would enable him to build a mansion using nothing but a toothpick, chewing gum, and his own bare hands. He was the sort of man that Jenna had always found inexplicably appealing (what woman _didn't _like a man with that sort of dogged edginess?) despite the fact that most of her former boyfriends had fallen under the 'All-American' category – like Jon for example, who had always been clean-cut and put together and essentially had been at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Daryl.

As Jon's face suddenly flashed before her mind's eye, guilt rushed through Jenna like water breaking through the walls of a confining dam. Thinking such things about Daryl had her feeling as though she'd disrespected Jon's memory, like she was betraying him in some way. It had barely been a month since he had died at the hands of those ruthless strangers – that she was even acknowledging the attractiveness of another man so soon after losing him just felt…_wrong_.

With that in mind Jenna pushed all of her thoughts about Daryl out of her mind and shifted her attention away from him once and for all, diligently turning her eyes to the trees – there more important things to look out for tonight, like walkers that would gladly have her and Daryl for a midnight snack or thieves that might take a special interest in the large, tank-like truck they were currently sleeping in. She needed to focus on keeping watch rather than on the man currently sleeping only feet away…and Jenna certainly didn't need to let her mind continue to wander to places that it never should have even gone to in the first place.

* * *

_Everything was immediately different after Kelly died. Conversation was almost non-existent in the days following her death, tempers became increasingly short, and the morale of the group, which had been somewhat optimistic for the majority of the journey, had hit rock bottom. Depression and guilt seemed to be their constant companions now and continued to hang heavy over their heads like a dark storm cloud as the group finally made it out of Louisiana and crossed over into Mississippi._

_As they prepared to make camp for the night near a heavily wooded area, Jenna looked over at Jon and sighed to herself, feeling a pang in her heart when she spotted the vacant look in his eyes as he and Bill prepared their hunting rifles. _

_Since the day she had met him Jon had always been a happy-go-lucky guy, had always had a smile on his face and possessed a vibrancy for life that was infectious – even when the world had started falling apart Jon had still managed to hold on to his buoyancy, because he'd had the group_ – _he'd had his parents, he'd had Jenna, and he'd had the promise of a safe haven at the end of the road. But now that things were changing, now that they had all been served a very harsh reality check and realized just how fragile everything __**really**_ _was, she could see __**him**_ _beginning to change as well…and not in a good way. _

_Jenna forced her eyes away from Jon when her mother started to cough violently next to her – Renee had been feeling sick since the previous day and as Jenna looked over at her with a frown of concern, she noted that it didn't look like the woman was getting any better. Her initial reaction to her mother's unexpected illness had been that of fear of course, terrified that a flesh-eater had gotten to her while she and Jon had been trying to save Kelly two days previous, but Renee had sworn up and down that the sudden sickness was merely due to stress and had nothing to do with a walker. It had been a relief to hear – just thinking about the possibility of her mother being infected made Jenna's heart lurch painfully – but Jenna was still watching her like a hawk, determined to nurse her back to health as quickly as she could; they had already lost one person, she wasn't sure she could handle losing anyone else. _

_Jenna brought the damp rag in her hands back up to her mother's forehead, wiping at the beads of sweat that were accumulating there. When Renee finally made it through the coughing fit she slumped back a little in the camping chair that Jenna had forced her into upon arriving, panting heavily for air and closing her eyes with a miserable expression on her face. Jenna moved the rag away so she could lay the back of her hand against Renee's forehead, checking for signs of a fever – she felt a little warm, but not alarmingly so. _

"_How're you feeling?" Jenna asked, smoothing her mother's hair down affectionately._

"_Miserable." Renee responded, wincing a little as she tried to get more comfortable in the chair. _

_"Yeah, looks like it." Jenna offered a small, sympathetic smile before reaching for their bag of medical supplies. She pulled out the bottle of Ibuprofen, which was beginning to look a little low, and dumped a few pills into her hand before reaching for a bottle of water – just as she started to unscrew the lid off, Renee stopped her by placing a hand over hers. "Mom, you're sick." Jenna reminded her with a frustrated sigh. "You need water and medicine." _

_Renee shook her head. "We don't have much more." She protested in a weak voice. "Don't waste it."_

_Jenna immediately rolled her eyes – and everyone thought __**she **__was the stubborn one of the family? 'Stubborn' was practically her mother's middle name. "Stop being a stubborn ass and take the damn medicine." She commanded her mother in an authoritative tone before forcing the medicine into her hand. _

_Renee turned a glare on Jenna but in her weakened state the look wasn't nearly as intimidating as it could have been. "Don't curse at me. I'm your mother." She chastised before popping the pills into her mouth and washing them down with a few generous gulps of water. When she finished she made a sound of appreciation and smacked her lips together, then fixed a pointed stare on her daughter. "Satisfied?"_

"_Yes." Jenna answered with a matter-of-fact nod before leaning down to press a quick kiss to the top of her mother's head. "I'm gonna talk to Jon for a second. Take it easy, alright?"_

_After Renee nodded in agreement Jenna made her way over to where Jon and Bill were – Jon looked up when he heard her approach but his father didn't acknowledge Jenna's arrival, seemingly much more intent on preparing his gear for their impending hunt. _

"_Hey." Jon greeted a bit dully, taking a second to glance in Renee's direction. "She feelin' any better?"_

"_Not really." Jenna answered, crossing her arms over her chest with a heavy sigh. "Look, we may wanna consider camping out here for a couple of days, give her a chance to get her strength back." She suggested with concern obvious on her features. "If we don't let her recover and she winds up getting even sicker…it could cause more problems for everyone." _

_Jon let out a heavy breath and pursed his lips, seemingly contemplating what she had just told him. After a long moment he finally nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, but we're not staying out here." Jon answered, glancing around their rather exposed campsite. "I'll scope out the forest while dad and I hunt, see if there's a place for us to camp that isn't so out in the open." _

_Jenna smiled at him gratefully, relieved he was being so understanding. "Thank you." _

_Jon offered a small, close-lipped smile in return but Jenna could tell that it was forced – he looked to his father when the man got to his feet and started rounding up the rest of his gear, then turned his eyes down to Jenna again. "We'll try not to go too far or be gone for too long." He told her – he then placed a hand on the side of her neck, staring into Jenna's eyes intently. "Just…keep an eye out, alright?" He urged. After Jenna nodded in agreement, Jon stepped in close to place a lingering kiss against her lips. "I love you." He whispered when he pulled away from her again. _

"_I love you, too." She told him just as quietly._

_With that Jon flashed one last half-hearted smile and then turned to leave. The moment he stepped away from her a sense of dread started to fill Jenna's body but she didn't say anything about it, not wanting to cause Jon anymore stress when he was already dealing with so much. She glanced over at Bill, who finally nodded to her with a forced smile, then watched silently as he and Jon walked away from their small camp and then disappeared into the trees. _

* * *

After laying out a mound of supplies for Sophia and leaving a sign informing her to stay put should she find her way back while they were gone, Jenna and Daryl prepared a couple of packs to get them through the day, went over their plan a few more times, then set off down the highway. Since she already knew that the area was relatively clear thanks to her trek the day before, they didn't feel the need to dawdle and made it to the sight of the busted up truck in fairly decent timing. When they arrived Jenna saw that almost nothing about the scene had changed – everything still looked as questionable as it had when she had been there the previous day; the only small difference now was that the truck's engine had died sometime over the course of the past twenty-four hours and, unlike yesterday, there was no smoke drifting up from the trees.

"What do ya think?" Jenna asked, glancing back at Daryl over her shoulder – she had decided to stand guard while he inspected the truck, just in case.

Daryl, who had been halfway inside the truck, backed out until he was in the street again. He heaved, eyeing the truck untrustingly, then looked to Jenna. "Don't look good." He admitted. "You were right'ta worry 'bout it." Jenna left her post to join Daryl at the truck when he motioned her over, listening intently as he started pointing out certain things once she was by his side. "See that?" He asked, pointing to the glass on the driver's seat and floorboard. "This window was shot out from the outside." Then he pointed to some bullet holes inside the cab that she hadn't previously seen. "Bet a week's worth'a meals those came from the outside, too…bet them duffle bags in the back seat weren't always empty, neither."

Jenna frowned up at him, eyebrows furrowing together. "So you think this was an attack?" She asked for clarification.

Daryl pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, then slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I think so." He answered, adjusting the crossbow that was hanging from his shoulder.

She heaved and shook her head with a sinking feeling – Jenna hadn't thought it possible, but things had just gotten even _more _complicated. "But wouldn't we have heard it?" She asked in confusion. "I mean, camp's only a few miles away – we should have been able to hear that much gunfire, right?"

Daryl turned his eyes down to hers knowingly. "Not if they got silencers."

Jenna immediately frowned in disconcertion. "Where the hell would they have gotten _those_ from?"

"Shit, you can _make _'em if ya got the right tools." He informed her matter-of-factly.

"Great..." She responded dully, feeling even more uneasy with the situation than she already had. "So Sophia's stuck out there with a bunch of well armed, well _prepared _Neanderthals…just wonderful." She said, her voice dripping with pessimism.

Daryl, who also seemed a little unsettled with the turn of events, stared down at Jenna for a second before turning to face the trees. "Where'd ya see that smoke again?" He asked, raising a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he peered around.

"About a mile or so that way?" She guessed, pointing in the direction that the smoke had been in the previous day – Daryl immediately started to head for the guardrail separating them from the forest without so much as second thought; Jenna, on the other hand, had some reservations and quickly grabbed him by the arm to bring him to a halt. "Are you sure we should just go barging right in?" She asked uncertainly.

"You wanna find Sophia 'fore someone _else _does 'r not?" Daryl retorted pointedly, shaking off her hand.

Jenna's expression turned incredulous. "What kinda stupid ass question is that?" She responded with a small scowl, narrowing her eyes at him. "Of _course_ I wanna find her. All I'm saying is that we don't know if the people that did this are still around _or _how many there are." Jenna explained. "We need to be smart about this, remember? We're no good to her if we're dead."

Daryl and Jenna stared each other down for a long moment until he finally seemed to decide that she did in fact make a good point. He let out another heave before nodding his head. "Fine – we'll backtrack a bit, find another way in." He conceded, making her nod once in approval. "C'mon, then…" He said before motioning for her to follow him.

The two walked about a half mile back in the direction they had just come before they finally agreed that they had gone far enough, turned to head off of the highway, and started for the trees. Daryl cleared the guardrail without hesitation, looking completely at ease and in his element as he went traipsing into the surrounding forest, but Jenna trailed behind him with far less enthusiasm – she lingered by the guardrail for a second and sucked in a few deep, calming breaths, before she finally hauled herself over it and went trotting down into the forest.

Jenna, who had been avoiding going into any sort of wooded area for a very long time now, hadn't really been sure how she would handle it when she finally stepped foot in a forest again – at first she felt alright as she trailed after Daryl (who was about ten feet ahead of her), though she continued to regard her surroundings with wary, untrusting eyes…but all it took to change that and immediately put her on high alert was one unexpected snapping of a twig a few moments later. As she held her shotgun in a vice-like grip and quickly scanned the area, her throat started to feel little constricted and her heart began pounding so hard that she thought it might burst right out of her chest at any given moment. Chances were it was probably just a rabbit or a squirrel that had made the noise. But much like the day before, just being in this setting made her jumpier than usual and facing her fears again was making all sorts of memories come rushing back to her, none of which were making her feel any better about the situation she was currently in.

_You'll be fine, Matthews. You're with Daryl – you're not alone, _Jenna inwardly reminded herself, trying hard to calm the anxiety and nerves beginning to consume her no matter how many times she repeated the mantra in her head; unfortunately, it was doing nothing to thwart her growing unease or the memories that had pushed to the forefront of her mind with a vengeance. She fought against them with all her might, tried to force them away so she could concentrate on what she and Daryl were trying to accomplish, but to no avail. The recollections continued to relentlessly replay in her mind, torturing her with all of the awful events that had lead to the deaths of the people she cared about until Jenna felt like she was on the verge of having a small panic attack right then and there.

"What the hell's wrong with ya, red?" Jenna hadn't realized that she'd been standing there looking like a deranged person until Daryl's voice cut through the rapid procession of thoughts swirling through her head – she focused in on him just as he came walking back towards her with a half-worried, half-alarmed expression on his face then brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in an attempt to shake away her moment of fretfulness. "You alright?" He asked uncertainly once he had come to a halt a few feet in front of her.

Jenna dropped her hand from her face and shook her head. "I don't…don't do so well with the woods." She admitted with a steadying breath, hating herself for letting him see her in such a vulnerable state but knowing she would be unable to keep up a calm façade. "I lost almost my _entire _group in the forest…"

He was the first person that she'd admitted this fact to. And – because he was Daryl Dixon – she fully expected for him to scoff and tell her to suck it up. But to Jenna's surprise, he closed the distance between them in the next moment and reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Hey." Daryl said in a surprisingly gentle tone, catching her full attention – when she met his gaze, there was a hint of concern lurking in his blue eyes; Jenna figured she had to be in pretty bad shape if she'd managed to bring this side of him out. "We'll be fine." He reassured her. "Ain't nothin' gonna happen long as I have anything'ta say 'bout it, ya got that?"

Jenna sucked in a calming breath and then nodded her head, now feeling unbelievably foolish for the way she had acted (and around _him _of all people). "Sorry." She mumbled out, trying not to look as mortified as she actually felt.

Daryl quickly shook his head. "Don't need'ta apologize." He told her. Then he dropped his hand from her shoulder and jerked his head a little, motioning for her to continue forward. "C'mon, red – I'm right behind ya."

Jenna was still completely embarrassed as they resumed their journey but she at least didn't feel quite as panicky anymore – she chose to ignore the way Daryl continued to eye her as though she were a ticking time-bomb that might explode at any given moment. When she met his stare for a brief moment Jenna could see that there was an earnest curiosity in his eyes, a look on his face that more or less that was silently asking, '_What the __**hell**__ have you been through?'_. But he seemed to know better than to pry though, and the two trudged through woods without making conversation as they instead concentrated on the task at hand; this time around, Jenna managed to hold herself together.

After a while, when her embarrassment finally wore off, Jenna was left feeling both a little surprised and a little _confused _by how easy it had been for Daryl to successfully calm her down – one comforting gesture on his part coupled with a few reassuring words and he'd managed to pull Jenna back to center and keep her from losing her head completely. How in the hell had he done that? Even _Jon _hadn't always been able to calm her down whenever she worked herself into a state like the one she'd just been in. Daryl had said that he wouldn't let anything bad happen and Jenna had believed him one hundred percent, which had her asking herself this question next –

Why, when she and Daryl barely even got along and when she wasn't even sure that she could classify him as a friend, did she feel so completely and irrefutably safe with him?

The two had hiked through the woods for about an hour before Daryl finally started to pick up on minute details here or there, though admittedly Jenna had absolutely _no_ idea how he managed to spot the tiny little clues that she would have never given a second thought to; a partial footprint here, a haphazardly placed twig there – it was as though Daryl was a seasoned detective the way he was able to locate the tiniest of imperfections that would eventually lead him to exactly what he was trying to find.

"Well, whoever came through here wasn't alone." He announced as he squinted down at the ground, kneeling on one knee so he could get a closer look. "Pickin' up on three, maybe four sets of tracks." Then he leaned down a little more so he could get an even closer look. "This one's different." Daryl told her with a small frown. "Like they weren't walkin' right."

"A walker maybe?" Jenna asked, peering down at the 'trail' in question (which looked like nothing but some scuffed up dirt and a few broken twigs to her).

Daryl shook his head. "Don't think so…looks like someone was bein' dragged."

His observation sent a wave of uneasiness through Jenna, but she didn't voice it to Daryl – when he stood to his full height again, raising his crossbow up in front of him defensively and continuing on with a determined look of concentration on his face, she quickly followed after him. Jenna readjusted the shotgun in her hands and let her eyes survey the area with caution as they trucked along – she had absolutely _no_ idea where they were or what they might be on the verge of finding, but right about then she was pretty damn happy that she _hadn't_ decided to go waltzing into the forest alone; as uncertain as she was about their current situation, Jenna _did _feel better having Daryl there to watch her back.

Another twenty yards or so into the forest, Jenna and Daryl finally found what they had been looking for – they had just pushed their way through a thick brush when they stumbled upon a lone cabin tucked deep into the woods, far away from any other form of civilization. As the lingering scent of burned firewood reached her nose, Jenna shared a sideways look with Daryl. Then they both turned their attention back to the cabin in front of them.

She didn't even get a chance to ask him what they were going to do from there before Daryl spoke up. "Ya got my back, red?" He asked, never taking his eyes off the cabin.

Jenna fidgeted a bit but nodded her head anyway. "Yeah, right behind you."

Without hesitation Daryl started moving in the direction of the cabin, crossbow raised and eyes locked on their target as he crept forward; Jenna followed close behind him, eyes alert as she searched around for any signs of life. There seemed to be nothing or _nobody _around and there were no sounds of movement from inside the cabin as they closed in on it, but she didn't let that appease her – for all they knew, someone had heard their approach and was just biding their time for the right moment to strike.

Jenna took a peek through one of the dirty windows when she and Daryl reached the house, but saw nothing of interest inside. When Daryl looked to her questioningly she just shrugged in response and shook her head, silently telling him that there didn't seem to be anyone else present. He made his way towards the front door after that, raising a finger to his lips and signaling for her to keep quiet – Jenna's heart started pounding in her chest again as he made a grab for the handle but she held her ground, ready to move in on his command. Daryl looked to her one last time, nodded his head, then finally flung the door to the cabin open.

She was half expecting an ambush to be waiting for them on the other side, but as they went barging into the one room cabin with their weapons at the ready they both quickly realized that the place was empty. Jenna and Daryl both lowered their weapons, sharing a look of relief, then broke off in separate directions to start inspecting the contents of the cabin.

Though there was no one inside currently, it was pretty obvious that someone had been there recently – a number of dirty dishes littered the top of a rickety table on the right side of the cabin, a few unmade beds were set up in the corners of the room, and there were some clothes strewn carelessly around the cabin. While Daryl crouched down by the fireplace to inspect the remains of the burned wood resting on the grate, Jenna started to rummage through some of the clothes lying around, trying to get a feel for who might occupy the cabin; most of it was men's clothes that looked as though they'd been through hell and back.

"Wood looks like it's been burned pretty recent." She heard Daryl announce behind her. "Bet this caused the smoke ya saw."

Jenna nodded in understanding, still inspecting the disheveled clothes. But as she suddenly came across a woman's blouse, she paused and then plucked it up with a frown – when she stretched it out to get a better look Jenna noticed that numerous buttons were missing, that the fabric was ripped in some places, and that there was some blood staining it in a few sporadic places. Now seeing as it was the apocalypse and there were no more washing machines, it wasn't exactly uncommon for clothing to look worse for wear…but something about the state of the blouse didn't sit well with Jenna and she turned back to Daryl, holding it up.

"Hey, Daryl?" She said to catch his attention. "Come take a look at this."

Daryl got to his feet and came to join Jenna, pulling the shirt from her hands so he could get a better look at it. After a moment or two of inspection he turned his eyes to the clothes around his feet before crouching down to rifle through them – after shuffling the items around for a few seconds, he suddenly froze. "What the…"

The moment Jenna saw what he was looking at, her heart dropped into her stomach – he'd just found a pair of what was obviously women's underwear and the flimsy fabric was torn in several places, as though it had been ripped off of someone. "Is that…?" Jenna started to ask unsurely, not even certain she wanted to know the answer.

Before she could finish her question Daryl was on his feet again and hastily ushering her out of the cabin with a firm hand on her back. "C'mon." He said authoritatively, leaving no room for argument – he looked as uneasy as Jenna felt as they exited the cabin and wasted no time to raise his crossbow again once they were out in the open, glancing around alertly.

"Do you think – " She started to question again.

"I dunno." He interjected, taking a hand off of his crossbow so he could wrap it around her elbow and begin to half-lead, half-drag her away from the cabin. "But we ain't stickin' around'ta find out." He added. "Let's get the hell outta here."

Jenna didn't put up an argument – clearly something had happened here, and if that something was _bad _then she had absolutely no problems leaving the cabin behind. But before they could make it very far they suddenly heard the snapping of a twig nearby and both immediately went into defensive mode, raising their respective weapons and turning in the direction of the noise. Daryl shot a look at Jenna before beginning to creep away, holding a hand up and signaling for her to stay put.

"Daryl." She hissed at him, looking around apprehensively – was he _really _going to leave her there by herself? Had he lost his _mind_? "_Daryl!" _She hissed again, this time with a sharper tone.

He ignored her and continued on. He slunk his way along the side of the cabin, never leaving her line of sight even for a second, until he could take a peek around the back of the wooden structure. As a disturbed expression crossed over his features, Jenna knew he had found the source of the noise – she watched as he lowered his crossbow some, staring at whatever he had found for a long, tense moment. When Jenna couldn't stand the mystery any longer she started making her way over to see what he'd found for herself, but the instant Daryl saw her movement from the corner of his eye he held a hand up to stop her.

"Ya don't wanna see this, Jenna." He warned her in a very serious tone, shooting an unreadable look in her direction before turning his attention back to whatever was behind the cabin, raising his crossbow again, and releasing an arrow.

As Daryl came trudging back towards her there was a solemn expression on his face. When he reached her he wordlessly grabbed her by the arm yet again and continued on, leaving Jenna with no choice but to follow him. "What was it?" She asked as he pulled her along. "Was it a walker?"

"Yeah…and if I had'ta guess, it was prob'ly one'a the people that belonged'ta that truck on the road." He answered without looking at her – Jenna immediately looked at him with wide eyes. "We need'ta get outta here 'fore trouble finds us." Daryl finished resolutely.

That was all she needed to hear. Jenna didn't spare the cabin another look as Daryl finally released her so he could raise his crossbow again, but her stomach still flipped over unpleasantly as her mind raced with all the possibilities of what he might have just found. If Daryl's reaction was anything to judge by, then all of her suspicions and fears had just been confirmed – those people had been attacked by someone very dangerous and had suffered a terrible fate.

Jenna raised her shotgun and quickened her pace so that she would be by Daryl's side, not about to let him get too far away. He spared her a glance before they both quickened their pace, eager to get as far away from the cabin as they could and not even caring how much noise they made with their hasty to departure.

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**Will we find out what Daryl found behind the cabin? Are Jenna and Daryl in the clear yet? Will trouble find them? You just might find out in the next chapter…**

**Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Even though I did my research, I couldn't really find much about our favorite crossbow slingin' babe pre-apocalypse (other than what we already know)…so most of what you're about to read in regard to Daryl's past is all made up – capeesh?**

**Also another warning – there is some PRETTY crude stuff bein' said towards the end of the chapter and there's a good possibility some of you might cry at some point. Consider yourself warned.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue, just read and enjoy…and maybe grab a tissue.**

* * *

_Chapter 9_

As night fell on Jenna and Daryl's camp yet again, Jenna rifled through the bags in the cab of her truck in search of something less dirty and less smelly to change into. She finally pulled out the only spare t-shirt and pair of jeans that Carol _hadn't _taken for washing and immediately started pulling off her grungy clothes, glad to get out of the dirty garments after sweating in them for a few days – though she was changing behind the driver's side door and knew he couldn't see her, Jenna still glanced in Daryl's direction to make sure he wasn't watching; at the moment he seemed more intent on the food he was cooking over a low fire than on what she was doing.

They had searched high and low through the forest all day long, redoubling their efforts and taking out any unfortunate walker that crossed their path as they tried in earnest to track down Sophia, but in the end had returned to the highway empty handed; they still hadn't been able to find Sophia or any clues that could have helped them find her. It was very discouraging – the poor girl had been in those woods for three days now – but Jenna supposed there was somewhat of a silver lining in the fact that they hadn't found any traces of the people responsible for what had happened at the cabin either (which they had steered clear of during their search). If nothing else, at least they had managed to avoid running into anyone unfavorable so far and had both made it back to camp in one piece.

Once Jenna was finished changing she tossed her dirty clothes into the backseat of her truck, shut the door, then went to join Daryl by the fire – he'd managed to hang up a few of their blankets around the flickering flames in a way that concealed some of its glowing light, just to be on the safe side. They had tossed around the idea of getting off the road and moving down into the woods so they would be better concealed, but, after much debate, decided that it would probably be just as (if not more so) dangerous in there – a tent posted up in the middle of the forest would stick out like a sore thumb; if they stayed in the truck – which didn't look out of place on the car-infested highway – like the night before, it would be easy to hide themselves from prying eyes.

Daryl looked up as Jenna approached before turning his attention back to the squirrels he was slowly turning over the fire. "I'll put it out soon as the squirrels'r done." He told her, easily picking up on her apprehension after she eyed the flames warily.

Jenna nodded in understanding and then dropped down into a nearby chair without saying a word, fingers moving to toy with the golden ring hanging from her necklace out of habit.

Things had certainly been a little tense since they had found that cabin. Though it seemed he'd been trying to hide it from her, Jenna could tell that Daryl was still disturbed with whatever it was that he'd found – he'd been more jumpy than Jenna had ever seen him, hadn't dropped his guard once throughout the course of the day, and had yet to abandon his crossbow for even a second; even now it was propped up on the chair next to him and within reaching distance. As for Jenna, she'd definitely been in a funk herself – her day in the woods combined with the knowledge that there was someone dangerous nearby had thrown off her normally put-together persona; every crack of a twig, every unexpected cawing of a bird made her heart skip a beat and had her jumping nearly a mile into the air out of fright, just waiting for something horrible to jump out and ambush them when they least expected it.

Jenna sighed and turned her eyes over to the trees, not sure what bothered her more – the fact that Sophia would have to spend another dark, scary night in the forest by herself or her growing curiosity over what had happened to those poor people back at the cabin. She hadn't dared to ask Daryl about it again and he certainly hadn't gone out of his way to bring up the subject either, but Jenna knew it was something that was weighing on his mind. Part of her wanted to pry, wanted to know what had affected him so much, but at the same time thought she might be better off _not _knowing; if it had been bad enough to shake _Daryl_ then surely it wasn't something that Jenna wanted to know about.

When Daryl finished cooking the skewered squirrels, he stood and walked over to hand her one. Jenna took it with a small, grateful smile, dutifully ignoring the fact that she was about to eat a woodland creature as though it were corn on the cob, and started eating – Daryl made quick work of putting out the fire, sending their camp back into darkness, before he plopped down in a chair across from her and started on his own meal.

"If someone had told me a year ago that squirrel would become a delicacy some day, I'd have thought they were out of their mind." Jenna commented thoughtfully when she could stand the silence no more – though conversation had been scarce because they'd both been on edge all day, she hoped that having one with Daryl now would help distract her from her own troubled thoughts. "They're not bad, but I don't know if I'll ever get used to eating them."

"Gotta do what ya gotta do, right?" Daryl responded, taking a large bite of his own squirrel. "'Sides, it ain't like there's a whole lot'a options on the menu anymore."

Jenna tilted her head as she watched him, curiosity starting to fill her as she regarded her companion. Though she'd been travelling with him and the group for nearly a week now, she realized she still didn't know very much about Daryl – where he had come from, how he had ended up with the group, how he had become the man he was today – but, admittedly, Jenna found that she _wanted _to learn more about him.

"What did you do before the apocalypse?" She suddenly asked, making him freeze mid-bite as his eyes darted to hers in surprise. "You know, what was your life like?"

"Why do ya wanna know?" He asked guardedly.

One of Jenna's eyebrows lifted up – this was pretty much the same response she'd gotten from him last night when she'd inquired to his reasons for not going to the farm. "Do you always try to dodge personal questions?"

Daryl snorted in response, making her frown a little. "I could ask _you _the same thing, red." He tossed back, shooting a pointed look in her direction.

As much as she hated to admit it, Daryl _did _have a point there. "Alright then." She said slowly, straightening up in her chair a bit as an idea formed in her head. "Let's make a deal – you answer my questions and I'll answer yours." Jenna bargained, though in the back of her mind she knew she was probably setting herself up to talk about things that she'd thus far been avoiding. "Anything goes, anything you wanna know."

"Why would I wanna do that?" He asked doubtfully, clearly not seeing – or not _wanting _to see – the reason for them to have such a conversation.

She shrugged her shoulders at him and looked around at their barren surroundings with wide, critical eyes. "…what _else _is there to do?"

Daryl shook his head to himself and took another large bite, the look in his eye a little patronizing when he met her gaze again. "And what makes ya think I wanna know anythin' about ya?" He shot at her around a mouthful of food. Jenna merely raised her eyebrows in response, a knowing expression on her face – she wasn't an idiot, she knew that her behavior throughout the day had _not _gone unnoticed by Daryl and had seen the questions burning in his gaze every time he looked at her; he could try to be as nonchalant about it as he wanted, but Jenna wasn't fooled. Daryl seemed to realize it too, because he let out a heave and then said, "Fine, if it'll get ya off my back." He conceded with obvious reluctance.

Jenna smiled in triumph before raising her eyebrows at him expectantly. "Well? Go on." She said with a wave of her hand, urging him to answer her question as she got back to her dinner.

Daryl let out another massive heave before answering. "Nothin' all that much different from what I'm doin' now, I s'pose." He started to explain – then he pursed his lips for a second. "Well…minus the zombie killin', anyway." Daryl corrected himself. "Just hunted a lot 'n worked whatever odd job came my way, stuff like that." He shrugged a shoulder after that. "Not really all that much'ta do in the back-woods'a Georgia 'cept for huntin' deer or gettin' shitfaced at the bar."

Jenna nodded her head, not all that surprised with Daryl's answer since she'd been expecting to hear something along those lines. "Do you miss your home?" She asked next.

Daryl just pulled a face. "Didn't have much'uva home'ta begin with." He admitted. "Can't miss somethin' ya never had, right?" Jenna wasn't sure why, but his words made a small swell of sympathy rise up within her – when she opened her mouth to question him about it a little more, though, he quickly beat her to the punch. "Ain't we _both _'sposed'ta be askin' questions here?" He reminded her, obviously wanting to turn the focus of their discussion away from himself.

Jenna pressed her lips together. "Right, sorry." She told him before relaxing in her seat a little further and taking another bite of her squirrel, mentally steeling herself for whatever questions he might have for her. "Shoot."

A pensive expression passed over Daryl's face as he contemplated what he wanted to ask her about. Though Jenna had already been positive she knew _exactly_ what he was going to inquire on – either her trip to Georgia, her group, or both – he surprised her by instead asking, "You always had night terrors?"

Her eyebrows immediately stitched together in confusion. "What?" She asked in utter befuddlement, having absolutely no clue what he was talking about. "What night terrors?"

Jenna's confusion seemed to have thrown Daryl off a little. "First night on the highway you were thrashin' around 'n mumblin' to yourself in your sleep, looked like you were tryin'ta fight off a ghost 'r somethin'." He explained slowly, eyebrows furrowing together. "Woke some'a the others up…freaked 'em out a little, too."

Well, that certainly explained the odd looks that Jenna had received from the group that first morning at camp – she felt her cheeks heat up a little bit in embarrassment. "I, uh…didn't realize I was having them." She admitted, turning her eyes away from Daryl's. "Guess I shouldn't be too surprised though – I have a lot of bad dreams." Jenna explained.

"'Bout your group?" He asked bluntly.

Jenna's eyes shot back to his. She hesitated for a nanosecond before nodding her head. "Yes." She told him truthfully, one hand once again unconsciously rising up to fiddle with the ring hanging around her neck.

Daryl had noticed the movement on Jenna's part and watched her toy with the necklace for a long, silent moment – he must have remembered the group's conversation from the first night Jenna had been with them, where she had revealed that the ring once belonged to her mother. Finally he spoke up again. "What happened to 'er?" He asked, eyes lifting back to hers as a small frown turned the corners of his mouth downward – Jenna looked at him with obvious reluctance. "Anything goes, 'member?" Daryl reminded, but there wasn't sarcasm or malice in his expression, only curiosity.

Jenna, who had known this conversation was going to happen sooner or later, felt her chest tighten a little as she decided to just tell him the truth and get it over with. She had to clear her throat before she could speak again.

"She got sick." She stated plainly, a faraway look entering her gaze as her thoughts turned back to the events leading up to her mother's death. "Not zombie-sick, but sick-sick." Jenna momentarily clarified before continuing. "We'd had a rough couple of days…my boyfriend's mother got eaten by a bunch of chompers right in front of us after a supply run went awry. It had been our first loss in the group, so it hit everyone pretty hard." She paused to look at Daryl – he was listening with rapt attention. "We ended up making camp in some forest in no-man's-land Mississippi for a few days so we could all recoup a little, try to get our heads on right again…and things were alright at first. Mom started feeling better, my boyfriend and his dad hunted a lot, kept themselves busy so they wouldn't have to think about Kelly's death. Everything was actually going…_okay_."

Then Jenna's remembered that last day in their camp, when things had unexpectedly taken a turn for the worst. And, after sucking in a deep breath, she started to recount the memory to Daryl…

OOO

"_Here, let me help you with that." Jenna quickly offered when she saw her mother lugging a mound of dirty clothes though the campsite. She hurried over to her side, fully intending to take the clothes from her and force her to rest a little more, but one stern look from Renee stilled her movements. _

"_Honestly, Jenna, I'm not bed-ridden." She chastised, though the tiny smile on the corner of her mother's mouth let Jenna know she wasn't all that upset with her. "You don't need to coddle me – I can handle doing a little laundry." _

_Jenna pressed her lips together uncertainly, watching as Renee continued on – there was a creek only about thirty or so yards from where they had made camp, which was where she was sure her mother planned to do the laundry. She wasn't about to let her go anywhere on her own but, at the same time, Jon and Bill were out hunting again and she wasn't sure she wanted to leave the camp and all of their supplies unattended either. "Shouldn't we wait until Jon and Bill get back?" She asked. _

_Renee paused and turned a look on Jenna. "Honey, I've been cooped up in a tent for three days – I need to do __**something**__ or I'm going to lose my mind." She informed her, a slightly pleading expression on her face now. _

_Jenna sighed and thought it over before finally giving in and nodding her head. "Fine…but I'm coming with you." She said sternly before reaching over to snatch up her shotgun and then quickly following after her mother. _

_The two women trudged silently through the woods, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that could pose a threat along the way – luckily the area seemed to be clear and they made it to the creek without any problems only a handful of minutes later. Renee immediately dropped the bag of dirty laundry and hiked up her pants a little before crouching down by the creek, running her fingertips through the water for a moment before turning back to the bag and beginning to pull out clothes. Jenna glanced around for a second before propping her shotgun up against a nearby try and then kneeling down next to her mother to help her. _

"_Do you think they'll have washers and dryers at Fort Benning?" Renee asked as they started scrubbing at the stains decorating a few of Jon and Bill's beyond dirty shirts. _

_Jenna looked over at her mother and sighed. "God, I hope so." She told her earnestly. "This creek water is probably doing more damage than good." She added, pulling a face as she dipped Jon's shirt in the brown, slightly murky looking water. "Better than nothing though, I guess…" _

_Renee looked over at Jenna with a small frown. "How're Jon and Bill holding up?" She asked with concern seeing as she had been resting quite a bit over the past few days and hadn't interacted with either man very much. _

_Jenna shrugged a shoulder. "As good as can be expected." She told her dully, the air around them growing a little heavier with the reminder of the tragedy their group had just suffered. "They're getting by though…somehow." _

"_We should do something nice for them." Renee suggested with a nod of her head. "Something to try and get their spirits up again."_

"_Like what exactly?" Jenna asked with a hint of doubt – it wasn't a bad idea, but seeing as they were in the thick of a zombie apocalypse, the time and resources to do something nice for anyone were hard to come across. Her mother seemed to realize that too, because she pursed her lips before sighing and shrugging a shoulder. _

"_I don't know…we'll figure something out."_

_Their conversation paused when a loud gunshot sounded through the trees in the next moment. Both women froze, eyes turning up from their task and searching around apprehensively, but when no other shots followed the first, they looked back to each other with questioning expressions. "Jon and Bill?" Renee asked uncertainly, doubt etched onto her face. _

"_Probably…" Jenna answered, hoping that it was indeed them and that the gunshot they'd heard had been intended for the buck that the two men had been tracking since yesterday afternoon. "We should hurry up here." She continued, getting back to the laundry and scrubbing with renewed determination. "We shouldn't be out in the open like this for too long." _

_Renee seemed to agree, because she nodded her head and followed Jenna's lead, scrubbing the shirt in her hands a bit harder and a bit faster. _

_For five tense minutes they continued like this, working in silence now and keeping a wary eye out for danger as they made quick work of the laundry. There were no other shots fired, no other sounds in the forest besides that of splashing water every time she or her mother sunk another article of clothing into the creek. Jenna silently prayed that Jon and Bill would return soon, never feeling too comfortable with __**any **__situation whenever both of the men were gone – by this point in their journey Jenna had gotten a little better at protecting herself, but everything always seemed a little more unsafe, a little more daunting whenever it was just her and her mother on their own. _

_The sudden snapping of a twig immediately caught the attention of the two women, both turning their heads sharply to look in the direction that they had heard the sound. Jenna shot a look at her mother before getting to her feet and retrieving her shotgun, raising it up in front of her as she regarded the trees untrustingly. She listened out for a second, hoping it had just been a rabbit or a squirrel, then frowned deeply when the sound of slow feet shuffling along the forest floor registered in her ears. _

"_Jon?" She called out, tightening her grip on her gun. "Bill?" _

_No response. _

"_Jenna, is it – "Renee started to ask in a frightened voice._

_Jenna quickly shushed her mother, making the woman immediately fall silent again. Her unblinking eyes never turned away from her surroundings, her grip on her gun never loosened even for a second as she waited to see what might be headed in their direction – finally, after a half a minute, a grotesque walker appeared from around a thick brush, already groaning with hunger as it caught sight of the two nearby humans. _

"_Shit." Jenna hissed, cocking her gun and aiming the double-barreled weapon at the monster's head. _

_Just as she was about to pull the trigger though, another walker suddenly came stumbling around a tree on her left. Then two more on her right. And another behind the first. With a sinking feeling of despair she realized that not one, but an entire __**group**__ of chompers had just found them…and the only weapon that she had to protect herself and her mother with was one double-barrel shotgun. _

_She started backing up towards her mother, her heart pounding against her chest with fear as the walkers quickened their pace and came toward them. "Jenna, what do we do?" Renee asked, grabbing her by the arm once she was close enough. _

_Jenna looked around for a quick second. "Find a weapon!" She instructed, quickly turning her focus back to the walkers when one surged ahead of the rest and came grappling toward her. _

"_Where?!" Renee asked incredulously. _

"_Anywhere!" Jenna shouted back._

_When the fast approaching walker was only a foot or so away, Jenna rammed the butt of her shotgun into its face instead of shooting it, wanting to save her limited ammunition for when she __**really **__needed it. As the thing fell to the ground she slammed the heel of her foot into its head, killing it. She then took a quick look behind her and saw that Renee had moved away from her side and was searching around the forest floor, trying to find something to protect herself with – just as she saw her mother pick up a large branch and wield it in front of her like a sword, two more zombies closed in on them. Renee swung the branch at the one closest to her, nailing it in the head, while Jenna deftly sidestepped the large male chomper that tried to make a grab for her; as it stumbled forward a little, arms trying to close around her but only wrapping around air instead, she kicked out its leg and then whacked it in the back of the head with her shotgun, making it fall to the ground. _

"_Jenna! Help!" Her mother suddenly screamed. _

_Jenna turned and saw that Renee was trying – and not really succeeding – to fend off two more walkers with her stick. She moved to hurry toward her mother so she could help her, but before she could make it very far the large male that she'd just whacked suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the ankle. Jenna went tumbling to the ground with a shout of surprise, wincing when she landed on the hard ground. Her mother was screaming again – though whether it was out of fear or concern for her daughter, Jenna wasn't very sure – but Jenna was too preoccupied with the large zombie now practically crawling on top of her to see what was happening with Renee. _

_Jenna kicked at and wrestled with the zombie as it growled and chomped and bared its teeth, hovering over her and already trying to sink its fingernails into her skin. The only thing keeping it from completely sprawling out on top of her was the shotgun that she had braced horizontally against its chest. But this particular walker was much bigger and much stronger than Jenna, even more so since it was driven by crazed hunger – she knew that if she didn't get it off of her, and __**fast**__, that she would soon be overpowered and become its lunch. _

_She didn't know how, but after a few more seconds of struggling Jenna managed to get a firm knee in to the walker's side and send it tumbling off of her. She panted as she scurried to her feet, skirting around its hand when the mongrel reached for her again, and wasted no time pressing the barrel of her shotgun to its temple and pulling the trigger – just as the walker's head exploded, an anguished scream suddenly tore through the air. _

_Jenna whipped around lightening fast, then felt the blood in her veins turn ice cold – one of the walkers that had been closing in on Renee had managed to get past the woman's wild swings and had latched onto her, its teeth already sinking into the juncture between Renee's neck and shoulder. _

"_No!" Jenna yelled at the top of her lungs, already running towards the crying, screaming woman – she shot the second walker that had been attacking her mother just before it was about to take a bite out of Renee's arm, then, since she was out of ammunition now, smashed the butt of her shotgun into the head of the one already on Renee once she was close enough. _

_The walker released Renee and fell to the ground, where Jenna then immediately slammed her boot into its face several times. Once it was dead and the area was secure again, she looked to her mother, chest heaving as she panted for air – tears started forming in her eyes when she saw the fatal bite wound on her mother's neck. As Renee, now pale in the face and bleeding profusely, started falling to the ground, Jenna rushed forward to catch her. _

"_Mom, no…" Jenna pleaded, shaking her head in denial as tears already began streaming down her cheeks. When Renee grew too weak to stand on her own feet, Jenna gently lowered her to the ground. "This can't be happening...you're not hurt….you're not hurt!" She sputtered out, barely even conscious of what she was saying as she pressed her hands over the wound to try and staunch the flow of blood._

"_Jenna…" Renee mumbled weakly, eyes filled with tears as her hand tightened on Jenna's shirt, fisting it as she tried to fight through the pain. "Hurts…so much." She told her with a cringe. "Hurts…" _

_Jenna froze for a moment, staring down at her mother in shock and disbelief, before she finally collapsed on top of her and started sobbing into the woman's chest – she knew right then, in that moment, that her mother was going to die. She hadn't been able to protect her, hadn't been able to save her from the walkers…hadn't been able to get her to Fort Benning like she had promised nor return her to her only son; Jenna had completely and utterly failed her mother, and she knew that she would never forgive herself for it._

"_I'm so sorry." Jenna told her through her sobs, lifting her head again so she could meet Renee's pained gaze. "I'm so sorry, mom. I…I wasn't…strong enough…I…" _

_Renee shook her head, wincing as she did so. "You…you did w-what you could, baby." She told her weakly, struggling to get the words out as blood began to fill her mouth – Jenna was only vaguely aware of the fact that someone had started shouting for her in the distance, but her focus right then was only on her mother as the woman started speaking again. "You…you have to…to find your brother." Renee told her as sternly as she could, as though she too knew she didn't have much time and wanted to give her these last minute instructions. "Find Sam…you'll…need each other." She wheezed._

_Jenna, barely able to see through her tears, nodded her head in agreement. "I will, mom." _

"_Promise me." _

"_I promise." _

_Renee seemed relieved to hear it and closed her eyes, struggling to catch her breath as blood continued to ooze out of the wound on her neck. Jenna dissolved into tears again and leaned over to press her forehead against her mother's, knowing these were her last moments with her and wanting to be as close to her as she could – Renee found the strength to bring a hand up to Jenna cheek, making the redhead cry even harder. "I love you, baby. You're such...such a good woman." She told her in an increasingly faint voice. "Your father…would be so proud." _

"_I love you too, mom." Jenna told her thickly. "So much." _

_Silence fell between them for a moment until Renee coughed, the sound thick with blood, then spoke again. "Jenna, don't…don't let me…turn." She suddenly said. "I don't…wanna be…one of them." _

_Jenna's eyes immediately widened with horror – she knew exactly what her mother was asking of her. "No. No, no, no." She said, shaking her head in denial. "Please don't ask that of me. Please!" Jenna begged desperately. "I can't do it!"_

"_You have to." Her mother said with surprising ferocity. "I'll kill…someone. Don't let me. I don't want…to be a monster." _

_In the next moment the sound of feet pounding against the forest floor reached Jenna's ears. She straightened up, half expecting more walkers to have found them, then started crying again when she saw that it was only Jon and Bill – both men came to an abrupt halt and were looking at Renee with horror on their faces. "Oh my God…" Jon muttered, taking a few slow steps in their direction. "Oh, Renee…"_

_He crouched down next to Jenna, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking to her with sad, sympathetic eyes for a moment; his gaze turned down to her mother when she spoke up again. "I'm begging you." She pleaded as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. "Shoot me now…don't let me…turn." Renee winced again. "End this…pain…"_

_Jon's eyes snapped up to Jenna's in a heartbeat. He seemed shocked for a moment, clearly not expecting to hear such a request, before a sad gleam entered his eyes; Jenna knew right then that he was willing to do what Renee was asking, but she knew he wouldn't do anything until he had __**her **__permission. She dropped her face into her hands, sobbing for a moment as Renee continued to suffer in her final moments, then finally nodded her head. _

"_Okay…" She said in a weak voice, lifting her face from her hands so she could meet first Jon's gaze, then her mother's. "We'll do it." _

_Renee immediately looked relieved. "Thank you." She said, trying to muster up a smile for them but failing. "Don't worry…" She told Jenna as Jon got to his feet – Bill had come to join them now with a solemn expression on his face and Jenna saw him discreetly hand a pistol to Jon from the corner of her eye. "I'll…I'll be okay." Renee said, clasping Jenna's bloodied hands with her own. "I'll be with your father again."_

_Jenna pressed a hand over her mouth and nodded, but couldn't bring herself to say anything in response. A heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder and she glanced up at Bill, who looked to her sympathetically before turning his eyes to Renee. "Thank you, Renee…for everything you've done." He told her. "Jon and I will protect Jenna – I swear it." He told her. _

_A grateful gleam entered Renee's eyes. "Th-thank…you." She told him. _

_Jon crouched down next to Jenna again and grabbed Renee's free hand, squeezing it in his own. "I'm sorry." He told her, voice full of regret. "I'm so sorry." Then he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'll miss you." He told her, sounding a little choked up – he and her mother had always had a great deal of respect for each other, always were fond of one another; this couldn't have been easy for him either. _

_Jon then moved away some so Jenna could have her last words with Renee. Jenna grabbed both of her hands in her own, squeezing them in earnest, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I love you, mom." She told her again. "I'll find Sam if it's the last thing I do – I swear it." _

_Renee nodded. "I love you, too…" She said weakly. "Tell Sam...I love him." Then, after Jenna nodded in agreement, she sucked in a shuttering breath and said, "It's time…to let me go…now." _

_Jenna pressed her lips together, squeezed her hands one last time, then nodded before releasing her and getting to her feet. For a moment nobody dared to move, hardly even dared to breathe as they all watched Renee Matthews close her eyes – as Jon finally stepped closer to Renee and aimed the pistol at her head, Bill wrapped an arm around Jenna's shoulders and pulled her into his side, offering up the support that she desperately needed. Jon hesitated for a moment, glancing back at Jenna one last time, then, as she buried her face into Bill's shoulder with raucous sobs, he pulled the trigger._

OOO

As Jenna finished telling the events of her mother's death, she wiped away some of the tears that had leaked from the corners of her eyes. When she finally looked over at Daryl, he was sitting in stunned silence – perhaps he hadn't expected the tale to be so heart-wrenching or maybe he was taken aback by the fact that he was seeing Jenna cry for the first time. Either way he seemed at a loss for words as she sniffled to herself.

"I try not to think about it…" Jenna finally started after a long pause of silence. "…but sometimes I wonder – what if we had done things differently?" She asked, frowning at Daryl and wiping at another tear that had just slid down her cheek. "What if we hadn't gone to that creek? What if I had brought more than just a shotgun? What if…" Jenna gulped around a lump in her throat. "What if I had never said anything and we had just moved on instead of making camp in the woods? Would she still be alive now?"

Finally, Daryl spoke up. "Jenna, her death wasn't your fault." He told her slowly, quickly picking up on the fact that she blamed herself and her own decision making for what had happened to her mother.

She couldn't help it; she let out a short, bitter laugh. "How do _you _know?" She shot at him.

Her moment of acrimony didn't seem to deter him. "Ya did what ya could." Daryl told her determinedly, catching her a little off guard with his attempt to console her. "Ya tried'ta save 'er, tried'ta do what ya thought was best for 'er. Ya can't blame yourself for somethin' that was outta your control, Jenna."

More tears welled up in Jenna's eyes as she shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate what Daryl was trying to do, but the guilt and despair she was feeling in light of reliving one of her worst memories was making it hard to believe him. "She was _my _responsibility." She reiterated. "She depended on _me_…and I _failed _her."

Daryl opened his mouth to say something more, but before he could Jenna had gotten to her feet and was snatching up her shotgun, trying with all her might to hold herself together. He too got to his feet, frowning in concern when she suddenly turned on her heel and started walking away. "Jenna – " He called out, following after her.

She turned and held a hand up, signaling for him to stay where he was; he did. "I just…need to be alone for a little bit, okay?" Jenna told him weakly, knowing she was about to lose it completely and not wanting to do it in front of him – he didn't seem to approve of her decision to leave the camp, but didn't say anything in protest either.

With that Jenna turned around again and made her way out of the camp, weaving her way through the abandoned cars on the road; she could feel Daryl's eyes on her back until she had walked so far that they could no longer see one another. Once she thought she was far enough away so that he couldn't hear her crying, Jenna finally collapsed against an old, rusted over Toyota, let her gun fall carelessly to the ground next to her, and succumbed to her emotions as she buried her face into her knees and started sobbing.

* * *

Jenna wasn't really sure how long she sat by the old car crying her eyes out, allowing herself to mourn the loss of her mother (as well as the rest of the group) for the first time in a very long time. But after a while, when she had finally cried all of tears and had managed to pull herself together enough to be able to face Daryl again, she dragged herself back to her feet and started back towards their camp in a slow, unhurried pace.

Now that she had her wits about her again and was thinking a little more clearly, Jenna was starting to feel guilty for the way she had treated Daryl – he had tried to talk her down, tried to console her and make her feel better about what had happened to her mother – which could have been seen as a miracle in and of itself given the fact that he _was _Daryl Dixon – and what had she done? She'd not only pushed him away but had even been a little insulting about it. Though Jenna had a feeling he probably understood why she'd acted the way she had, she still had every intention of apologizing to him.

It was a dark night that night, so dark that it was actually a little difficult for Jenna to see as she slowly made her way through the rows of abandoned cars – unlike the night before, the sky tonight was filled with clouds, blocking all the stars and moonlight from sight and leaving her with very little light to navigate by. When she nearly tripped over a half-empty suitcase lying in the middle of the road she cursed and glared at the offensive object, wishing she had thought to bring a flashlight with her; she hoped Daryl wouldn't think she was a walker and accidentally shoot an arrow through her brain whenever she reached camp again.

She had just turned and started resuming her trek when an unexpected, albeit _faint_ sound reached her ears. Jenna slowed to a stop again and took a moment listen, straining her ears to try and determine what it was that she had heard; she couldn't be sure if she was just hearing things or not, but Jenna could have sworn that had been a voice – no, _multiple_ voices – off in the distance.

All thoughts about her mother or that day in the woods vanished from her mind as warning flags immediately went up in her head, causing her to tighten the grip that she had on her shotgun and look around with alert, suspicious eyes. Unless Daryl was talking to himself (quite loudly) or had some secret, working radio that she hadn't previously known about, she could only assume that the foreign voices belonged to people that had wandered too close to their camp – and seeing as she and Daryl now knew that they weren't the only living humans in the area, she had to acknowledge the possibility that the voices belonged to the very strangers they'd been trying to avoid running in to all day long.

With a curse Jenna quickened her pace, still not entirely sure which direction the voices had come from but not about to let Daryl continue to be a sitting duck back at camp and remain none-the-wiser of the fact that someone else was nearby. She scurried along, now a little glad that it was as dark as it was, and was nearly back to her and Daryl's camp when she heard the voices again, this time much louder.

" – all you got?" An unfamiliar male voice asked snidely, making her come to a screeching halt. "This ain't _shit_! Where's the good stuff?"

"Check that truck." Another, equally unfamiliar voice – also belonging to a man – instructed the first. "There's gotta be somethin' locked away in that toolbox."

With a sinking feeling, Jenna quickly realized that the voices were not only nearby, but in their _camp_.

Her gut-instinct reaction had her immediately diving behind a car before either of the two unknown men – probably _bandits _– could spot her, though it was so dark at the moment that they probably wouldn't have been able to see her without a flashlight anyway. Then, as she stayed crouched out of sight wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now, Jenna cursed under her breath again – where was Daryl? Had something happened to him? Had these men hurt him in some way? The thought of him being injured – or dead – made her stomach turn and bile start to rise in her throat.

She listened, heart pounding against her ribs, as someone noisily stomped along in the bed of her truck before opening the metal toolbox located there with a loud creaking sound. After a few seconds a curse sounded through the air, followed by the slamming sound of the toolbox being shut again. "Nothin'." The first voice announced, sounding disgruntled.

Oddly enough, when the second man spoke again she was filled with a huge sense of relief. "Where you hidin' all your good stuff, bro?" The second stranger asked maliciously. There was only one person that question could have been directed toward – though he was definitely still in trouble, a huge weight lifted off of Jenna's shoulders when she realized that Daryl was at least still alive.

"Fuck you." She heard Daryl growl in response. "I ain't tellin' you _shit_!"

She winced when Daryl suddenly let out a short sound of pain. She had no idea what they were doing to him – or what they had _already _done to him – but knew without even having to think about it that there was no chance in _hell_ she was going to leave him there to fend for himself. Thus far these newcomers didn't know that Jenna was around or that she was armed; she needed to find a way to strike back and help Daryl while she still had the element of surprise on her side.

"Now we can do this the easy way 'r the hard way." The second man told Daryl matter-of-factly. "But I guarantee you ain't gon' like the hard way."

Daryl didn't get a chance to say anything in response before he let out another sound of pain – Jenna glanced around for a moment, searching for anything that could be of use as she tried to formulate some sort of plan, but then froze as the first man spoke again. "Well, would ya _looky here_…" The stranger said evilly. "This here looks like _woman's _clothing, Buck."

Jenna's blood ran cold – the men must have started looking through the cab of her truck and had found her things inside. The second man suddenly cackled maliciously. "Why I believe you're right, Danny." He said in response. "Guess Robin Hood here ain't as alone as we thought." Jenna cringed when Daryl suddenly hissed with pain. "Where she at?" The one named Buck demanded to know. "She around?"

"Ain't no girl around." Daryl immediately lied. "I'm alone."

Buck cackled again. "He's lyin', I can tell." The man announced. "She's around here somewheres..." Then he said, "Hope she's a good one – I could use me a decent lay."

"Yeah." She heard the other agree enthusiastically, making her skin crawl. "That woman yesterday weren't _no _fun."

Daryl immediately let out a sound of pure rage, his reaction probably confirming to the bandits that Jenna was indeed still nearby. "If you fuckin' touch her," he growled, sounding beside himself with anger, "I swear to God I'll – oof!"

Daryl's threat was cut short when he was (Jenna could only assume) punched by whoever had managed to take him captive. "You ain't exactly in the position to be makin' threats, are ya?" The man named Buck asked – she could practically hear the evil grin in his words.

"Fuck you!" Daryl snapped again in a severe tone, panting for air.

"Oh, there's gon' be some fuckin' tonight, you can be sure'a that." The bandit informed Daryl with another dangerous chuckle. "When we find that woman'a yours, we gon' drag her back here and take 'er every way from Sunday..." He continued. "And you gon' get'ta watch the _whole thing_."

As Daryl let out a string of infuriated curses, followed by a few grunts of pain, Jenna finally spotted a large rock about a foot away from her. Knowing that time wasn't on her _or _Daryl's side, she snatched it up and stared at it for a long moment – then, without giving it a second thought, she launched the rock at a car some ten feet in front of her. The rock made a loud clanging sound as it connected with the side of the car, which immediately brought the commotion in the campsite to an abrupt halt and drew the attention of the men holding Daryl.

"The hell was that?" The first voice, which belonged to the one named Danny, asked – Jenna tightened her grip on her shotgun even more and pressed her back against the car she was hiding behind, molding herself to it as best as she could to ensure that she stayed out of sight.

There was a second of silence before Buck, whom she had to believe was in charge, said, "I dunno…go check it out." Then he said, "Take that with ya 'case it's a corpse – don't waste our ammo."

This was exactly what Jenna had been hoping for. Though she wasn't sure how big or strong the stranger was – or whether she'd even be able to overpower him – she still had to at least try to do _something _to help Daryl. So Jenna waited, being as silent and as still as she possibly could, as the one called Danny left her and Daryl's camp behind and started in her direction, slowly making his way through the cars as he searched for what had caused the noise he and his comrade had just heard.

It was a few minutes before he neared her position. Jenna held her breath as his footsteps drew closer and closer, adrenaline beginning to course through her veins like wildfire. When his footsteps came to a halt some five feet away, she slowly leaned over to peek around the front of the car blocking her from his sight – she could just make out the form of an average sized man in the darkness; his back was to her as he looked around, but she could see that he was wielding Daryl's crossbow.

"Anything?" The man's partner called to him from the camp.

When the bandit nearest to her turned to face the direction of camp again, Jenna quickly ducked back out of sight and pressed her back against the car again. There was a moment of hesitation on his part that made her heart hammer with apprehension, fearful that she had moved too slow and that he might have caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. But then, to her relief, he finally called back to Buck, "Nothin'."

"Well…keep goin'." The other instructed, trying not to shout too loudly. "It might be that girl." Daryl started to say something after that – perhaps it was an attempt to warn Jenna of incoming danger – but he was quickly silenced. "You'd best keep quiet, boy!" The man instructed in a fierce hiss.

As silence fell over the road again, Danny the bandit continued on. Jenna took another look at him around the car, waited until he had walked a little further away, then stealthily began to follow him, making sure to keep to the shadows of the vehicles so that she wouldn't be seen by anyone – she tightened her grip on her shotgun and silently prayed to any God that would listen to give her the strength to pull this stunt off, because if she didn't, she and Daryl would probably both be dead by the time it was all said and done.

It wasn't until the bandit stopped to curiously peer inside a car filled with dead bodies that Jenna finally set her plan into motion. With the sneakiness of a mouse she slunk in between two cars, only feet away from the dangerous stranger now, then, after bracing herself for what was about to happen, let out a low whistle to catch his attention – the instant he whipped around in surprise Jenna was on her feet and slamming the butt of her shotgun into his face, moving so fast that he didn't even have time to react. He fell to his knees almost instantly, clutching his face with a short sound of pain. After she delivered another hard blow to his temple he finally slumped to the ground, now unconscious.

"Danny?" The man's partner called, the tone of his voice a little uncertain.

Jenna quickly snatched up the crossbow, snagged the pistol that she'd spied tucked into the bandit's pants and shoved the handgun into the waistband of her own jeans, then ducked back into the shadows before Buck could see her. Now holding both Daryl's choice weapon and her shotgun in either hand, she started silently creeping her way back towards camp – it would only be a matter of time before the other bandit realized that his comrade had been taken out, which meant that the precarious predicament that Daryl was in could quickly turn from bad to worse if she didn't act fast. Once she was close to the camp again, though, she hesitated and hid behind another car, not entirely sure where to go from there since she hadn't exactly thought the plan all the way through yet.

"Danny, stop playin' around!" The other called, his voice much louder now that she was closer.

Suddenly, an idea struck her – though she immediately felt like a fool for doing it, Jenna started to make the same groaning, gurgling sounds that a walker might make and scuffed her feet against the pavement (though she didn't dare leave the safety of her new hiding spot), hoping to make the man believe that she was an incoming walker and throw him off his guard. To her ever-lasting surprise, it worked. The man cursed again, sounding irritated with this turn of events. "Goddamn walker!"

But just as Jenna set her shotgun down so that she could hold Daryl's crossbow securely in her hands, about to attempt to shoot an arrow into whoever had her companion captive before he could figure out that there _wasn't _a walker in the area, the man let out a surprised sound. The air suddenly filled with the sounds of an ensuing struggle – Jenna hadn't expected Daryl to start fighting back but apparently he'd decided to take advantage of the man's momentary distraction. The sounds of fists connecting with flesh accompanied with loud curses and grunts of pain reached her ears, making her surge to her feet in the blink of an eye to see what was going on.

Through the darkness she could see that Daryl had managed to break free and was now fighting to gain control of a handgun that apparently belonged to Buck. The bandit, however, was larger than Daryl and was on the verge of getting the upper-hand in their spar as they stumbled around and threw punches at each other. Jenna hurried forward without anther moment of hesitation after Daryl was roughly slammed against her truck with a loud _BOOM _– Buck the bandit seemed to have momentarily forgotten about anything or anyone but Daryl and didn't even realize that she had come to her companion's rescue. He was just about to throw another punch at Daryl when she raised the crossbow and released an arrow, hoping and praying it _wouldn't _hit the wrong person by accident.

"Ahhh!" The bandit cried out as the arrow imbedded itself into his left shoulder.

Though Daryl was momentarily surprised by Jenna's sudden appearance, he recovered quickly and landed a solid punch to the man's jaw. After the man fell to the ground Daryl pounced on him, grabbed hold of the pistol he'd been fighting for, then scrambled to his feet again so he could viciously kick the bandit in the ribs a few times. Once Buck was incapacitated, Daryl, now bleeding and gasping for air to catch his breath, looked to Jenna – she thought there was a gleam of relief in his eyes now that he was seeing her alive and uninjured.

"Good timing." He panted, landing one more kick to Buck's stomach for good measure. "Where's the other one?" He then asked as the bandit rolled around on the ground, groaning in pain – Buck started to move like he was going to get up but froze when Daryl pointed the pistol he'd won right between his eyes.

"Down the road – I knocked him out." She informed him, taking a moment to backtrack and grab her shotgun again before joining him in camp – Jenna immediately passed Daryl his crossbow, which he readily accepted without ever taking his new gun off the bandit now glancing back and forth between the two of them. "You okay?" She asked, eyeing the cuts that had opened up underneath his eye and on his bottom lip.

"I'm fine." He reassured her, not too bothered with the blood trickling down his face. "Nice shootin' by the way." Daryl complimented with an approving gleam in his blue eyes.

"Thanks." Jenna said before looking down at the bandit with blatant dislike. "What're we gonna do with _him_?" She asked, adjusting her grip on her shotgun.

Buck paled and then immediately looked to Daryl with wide eyes, obviously wanting to know that answer as well. "Prob'ly should _shoot _the som'bitch." Daryl spat out threateningly, glaring at the bandit. "But reckon we all need'ta have a little conversation 'bout some things first." He added, shooting a look towards Jenna.

"Look, we don't have'ta – " Buck started to reason, whistling a very different tune now that he'd been overpowered, was weaponless, and didn't have any form of backup.

Daryl, who apparently didn't have the patience for whatever the man was about to say, shut Buck up by taking his crossbow and whacking him across the head with it. As the bandit slumped over, now unconscious, Jenna raised her eyebrows at him in silent question – Daryl just shrugged back at her. "We'll talk to 'im when 'e wakes up again." He said nonchalantly, not even an ounce of remorse on his face. "I got some rope in my bag." Daryl continued. "We'll tie 'em up then wait 'til their conscious'ta see if we can get some information outta them." He explained, making her nod in agreement. "I'm'a go grab that other asshole real quick 'fore he wakes up again – think ya can handle this one if 'e comes to?".

"Oh yeah." She confirmed with a nod, cocking her shotgun before aiming the double-barrel directly at Buck's crotch. "One wrong move on his part and I'll turn him into a Ken doll." Jenna said in a completely serious tone.

Daryl, who didn't seem to doubt that she would do just that if she needed to, immediately smirked at her. "Atta girl." He said, slapping her on the back before turning to leave. "Keep 'n eye out while I'm gone." He called over his shoulder before jogging off down the road to collect the other bandit.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. That's the most I've gotten for a chapter on this story so far and they definitely gave me the warm fuzzies…well, most of them did, anyway.**

**Anywho, I'll admit I'm a little self conscious about this one, so be gentle - I literally wrote three different versions because I wanted to make sure I did it right! Jenna and Daryl had to make a some very tough decisions in this chapter, decisions that not everyone will like. But before you come after me with torches and pitchforks, wait to see how it all pans out first, kay? **

**And for those of you ready to see more group interaction, don't worry - they'll be coming back in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Walking Dead.**

* * *

_Chapter 10_

"These boys ain't been hurtin' for food, that's for damn sure." Daryl grunted as he and Jenna worked in tandem to half carry, half drag the larger of the two bandits over to the guardrail, which Danny, the one she had knocked out down the road, had already been securely tied to; he was slumped against it with a piece of duct tape over his mouth, still unconscious.

"Yeah, well…" Jenna managed out in a strained voice, nearly dropping Buck's heavy feet as they moved him. "I'd imagine going hungry isn't a problem when you're constantly stealing other people's supplies." She told Daryl sarcastically, fixing a quick glare on the unconscious bandit.

"Guess not." Daryl agreed with a huff.

When they finally made it to the guardrail they dropped the heavy man onto the concrete, neither caring if the fall would hurt their new prisoner as he landed with a hard _thud_. Jenna helped Daryl position Buck next to his comrade then went to fetch the duct tape as he tied the bandit to the guardrail. After she tore off a bit of tape and slapped it over Buck's mouth, using more force than was probably necessary, she and Daryl both straightened up and let out simultaneous sighs of relief now that their task was finished – Jenna noticed that Daryl still hadn't pulled the arrow out of Buck's shoulder, but didn't question him on it.

"So what happened?" Jenna finally asked Daryl as they turned to walk away from the two motionless men, wanting to know what had gone down while she was away.

"You'd been gone a long time." Daryl started to explain with a shrug, pausing for a second to scoop up a duffle bag that didn't belong to either of them; Jenna assumed it belonged to Buck and Danny. "I was startin'ta think a geek might'a gotten ya, so I grabbed a flashlight 'n started havin' a look around. Those two just came outta nowhere 'n jumped me."

Jenna frowned at him apologetically, feeling a little guilty for having inadvertently put Daryl at risk by going off on her own. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have wandered off." She apologized at once.

Daryl waved her apology away dismissively. "Don't worry 'bout it – reckon they prob'ly would'a found us anyway." He said with a shake of his head. "'Sides," he continued, dropping the duffle bag onto the hood of her truck, "we _both_ would'a been in some deep shit if you'd been here with me when they showed up." Daryl said, turning a pointed look on her.

Jenna, remembering all of the plans she'd overhead the two bandits threatening Daryl with before she'd intervened, nodded her head slowly in agreement. "I guess you're right."

He watched her for a second before lifting a brow at her. "So…it a habit'a yours'ta go around actin' like a walker?" Daryl asked, looking both a little amused but also a little impressed at the same time. Jenna's cheeks immediately flushed as she pressed her lips together, fighting back an embarrassed smile; she still couldn't believe she'd actually pretended to be a zombie. "Have'ta hand it to ya – that was some pretty quick thinkin', red."

"How'd you know it was me?" She asked, seeing as Buck had been fooled easily enough.

"I didn't at first." Daryl told her truthfully. "Figured it out quick enough, though."

Jenna nodded in understanding. "I've never felt like a bigger idiot in my entire life." She admitted. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

Daryl held his hands up. "Hey, it saved _my_ ass so you won't hear me complainin'…" He stated matter-of-factly.

Jenna offered a small smile and nodded her head – though it had worked out in the end, she hoped she wouldn't have to launch another rescue mission any time soon; they'd gotten lucky this time around, but that might not be the case if something like this were to happen again.

For a moment she glanced towards the unconscious bandits – there was nothing for her and Daryl to do now but wait until they were conscious again. "I'm gonna check out the road, make sure all this commotion didn't draw anything to us." Jenna told Daryl, looking for a way to pass the time.

"Aight." Daryl said distractedly, having already snatched up a flashlight and unzipped the duffle bag so he could start digging through the contents inside.

Jenna nodded again and then rounded her truck, pausing by the driver's side so she could lean into the cab and retrieve her binoculars. Once they were in hand she continued on towards the back tire, placing her foot on the large wheel and using it as leverage to pull herself up and into the bed. She took one last look at Daryl, who had paused in his search so that he could clean his bloodied up face, then raised her binoculars to her eyes and started surveying the road.

Though it was still rather dark, some of the clouds had cleared out and made way for some more stars and even a bit of the moon to shine through, lighting up their surroundings a little bit more (not by much, though) – luckily for them, their kerfuffle with the bandits didn't seem to have been loud enough to attract any walkers, nor were there any signs of other incoming humans. Jenna still took one last long look around though, just to be certain, then lowered her binoculars again and hopped over the side of the truck to rejoin Daryl; she only paused for a second to toss her binoculars back into the driver's seat of her truck.

"See anything?" Daryl asked, eyes turning up to hers for a moment.

"No, nothing." She answered with a shake of her head. Jenna turned her eyes over to the hood of her truck, where Daryl had already started laying out various supplies that he'd found stored in the duffle bag. "Find anything good?"

"Plenty." Daryl answered, continuing to pull out an assortment supplies and place them on the hood of the truck. "Got ammo," he began listing off, pulling out a bag of bullets, "food," he continued, this time producing handfuls of protein and power bars, "water, flashlights, batteries…no medicine or anythin' though." He went silent for a second as he dug a little deeper, then he let out a short sound of triumph. "Jackpot."

"What is it?" She asked curiously, wondering what could be a better find than the supplies and ammunition.

Daryl pulled two long, silver, steel cylinders from the bottom of the bag and looked over at her with an expression similar to that of a kid on a Christmas morning. "Home-made silencers, just as I thought." He said, holding them up for her to see. He passed one over to her and then reached for the handgun he'd wrestled from Buck, attaching the one he still held to the end of the gun. "These'll _definitely_ come in handy." Daryl stated matter-of-factly, eyeing the weapon approvingly.

Jenna nodded, weighed the silencer in her hand for a moment, then leaned over to take another peek into the duffle bag. She pushed a few things around while Daryl aimed his gun at random targets, testing it out a little – Jenna froze and pulled a face when she found something tucked underneath a few dirty shirts. "Condoms?" She asked, pulling the box out and showing it to Daryl; he snorted in response. With a scoff Jenna tossed the condoms back into the bag. "The sooner we're away from these guys the better – they give me the heebie-jeebies." She said, shooting a glare in the bandits' direction.

After that Daryl set his new silencer-equipped handgun on the hood of the truck and snatched up the flashlight again so he could resume searching through the duffle bag for anymore errant supplies. As he did this, however, and the light bounced off his face, Jenna had to frown in concern – she hadn't been able to really see the full extent of the damage done to him since it was so dark outside, but now she could see that in addition to the cuts under his eye and on his lip, there was also a large, nasty looking bruise starting to form on his right cheekbone. Daryl didn't seem too bothered by his injuries but they were hard for Jenna, who had been the appointed 'doctor' in her former group, to ignore; though her medical knowledge was limited, force of habit immediately had her wanting to make sure the damage wasn't worse than it looked.

"Here…" She said to catch his attention, extending a hand and motioning for him to pass over the flashlight. "Let me have a look at you."

Daryl paused in what he was doing and turned skeptical eyes on her. "What for?" He asked slowly, looking as unsure as he did guarded.

"Because those guys just used your face for a punching bag." Jenna reminded him matter-of-factly. "I wanna make sure there isn't any serious damage."

Daryl shook his head dismissively and refocused his attention back to the duffle bag. "Don't both – " He started to say.

"Would you just shut up and let me take a look at your damn face, Dixon?" Jenna interrupted, making his argument die on his lips and his eyes shoot back to hers in what seemed like surprise. "Just...humor me for a couple seconds, alright?" She added before opening and closing her hand a few times in an impatient 'gimme' motion, eyes darting down to the flashlight he was holding before boring pointedly into his own.

Daryl thought it over for a second before he finally slapped the flashlight into Jenna's hand, but not without grumbling to himself under his breath. She gave him a look that clearly said, _'thank you for cooperating'_ then motioned for him to face her fully. Once he'd turned toward her she raised the flashlight to his face, careful to avoid shining the light directly in his eyes so she wouldn't blind him – not that she could have anyway, because Daryl was now intently looking anywhere but at her as she started inspecting his wounds. Jenna clicked her tongue in disapproval, gaze locked on the gash underneath his eye as she shook her head.

"This could probably stand to be cleaned…_properly_." She informed him, still continuing with her inspection. "There's no antiseptic in that bag of theirs by any chance?"

Daryl finally looked at her and shook his head. "Didn't see any." He answered.

Jenna nodded. "Well keep looking." She instructed.

Then she shifted the light over to his right cheekbone, frowning a little deeper at the swelling already beginning to form there – she lifted her free hand to his face, intending to prod at the wound and make sure the bone underneath hadn't been compromised, but just before her fingertips could come into contact with Daryl's skin he jerked away from her touch a little. Jenna froze, not entirely sure what to make of his reaction, but didn't lower her hand yet – when she turned her gaze to meet his, it was impossible to decipher the look in his blue eyes.

"I'm just makin' sure nothing's broken." She told him in a calm voice. "Relax."

When Jenna moved to touch him again, Daryl didn't jerk away again – his eyes were still on her though, watching her with that same intent, albeit _unreadable_, gleam. She did her best to ignore it and kept her gaze locked firmly on what she was doing, refusing to meet his stare as she pressed her fingertips against his swollen cheek with gentle, assessing touches. When Jenna finally felt brave enough to turn her eyes over to his, the way he was watching her made her heart start to beat a tick faster than usual.

She cleared her throat and dropped her hand from his face. "Well, it doesn't look like you're in too bad of shape." She informed him, taking a step back to put some space between them. "But you'll be black and blue for a few days."

Daryl watched her for another silent moment before finally shrugging a shoulder and turning to face the duffle bag again. "I could'a told ya that." He shot at her, his sarcasm immediately breaking whatever tension had been between them and making it hard for her to _not_ roll her eyes.

Then a thought struck her, making Jenna raise an eyebrow and place her hands on her hips. "The others'll have questions when they see you like this, you know…" She told him skeptically, knowing that Daryl's beat-up face wouldn't be overlooked by the group, Rick – and probably the opinionated Dale – in specific.

"Reckon they will." He agreed, not sparing her another look as he busied himself with a search of the bag's side pockets. "But Carol'd lose her mind if she knew what really happened, 'specially since Sophia's still out there somewhere." He pointed out to her. "Think it might be best if we kept this on a need-to-know basis for now."

"Well, we have to at least tell Rick." Jenna countered. "If anyone _needs to know_ what we're up against out here, it's him." Daryl just 'hmph'ed in response. With a sigh, Jenna crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head at him. "What about us?" She asked next.

Daryl paused and looked back at her skeptically. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, what's _our_ plan?" Jenna inquired. "Obviously we can't stay here after _this_." She pointed out, gesturing to the men that had found and attacked their campsite. "There's no telling how many more are out there. And I don't know about you, but I don't exactly wanna be fighting off bandits every time we turn around."

Daryl's gaze shifted over to the two unconscious bandits. He thought it over for a moment then let out a long heave. "We'll see what kinda info we can get outta them first." He finally said. "Then we'll come up with a game plan." Then he turned his attention back to the duffle bag, letting Jenna know he didn't want to discuss the matter anymore for the time being.

It was another fifteen minutes before one of the bandits finally started to come to – while Daryl was busy stowing away the bandits' supplies for safe-keeping and a slightly-paranoid Jenna was keeping watch on the road, a pained moaned suddenly sounded in the air. They both stopped what they were doing and looked towards the tied-up bandits. Danny was starting to wake up and shift around a little – Jenna and Daryl shared a look with one another before he nodded towards her shotgun, silently telling her to go and get it.

"Show time." He announced.

While Jenna hopped down from her truck and grabbed her gun, Daryl walked over to the bandit and crouched down in front of him, smacking him none-too-gently in the face a few times to make him a little more alert. When Danny's eyes finally popped open he seemed a little confused as to where he was and what had happened – when he saw Daryl in front of him, however, and Jenna standing only a few feet away with her shotgun in hand, his eyes widened.

"Welcome back, sunshine." Daryl greeted condescendingly – when Danny didn't look away from Jenna for a long moment, Daryl slapped the side of his head to grab his attention. "You'd best look at me when I talk'ta you, boy." He instructed sternly.

Danny let out a groan of pain, clearly still tender after the beating he'd received from Jenna's shotgun, and the sound pulled a triumphant smirk from her. "Yeah, bet I'd be hurtin' too if I'd had a shotgun slammed into my face." She commented, feeling pretty proud of herself for her handiwork. When Daryl looked back at her with a quirked brow – though she _thought_ he seemed a bit amused with her trash-talking – Jenna pressed her lips together before making a zipping motion over them, letting him know she was going to shut her mouth and let him do the talking.

Daryl turned back to the bandit.

"Now here's what's gonna happen…" He said slowly. "I've got questions that need answers 'n _you're_ gonna be the one'ta give 'em to me, understand? 'Cause if ya don't, things ain't gonna work out so well for you." He told the man in a no-nonsense tone – Danny hesitated and then nodded his understanding. "I'm'a take this tape off your mouth now, but if ya scream or yell or do anything'ta draw attention, that redhead over there's gonna have no choice but'ta shoot ya." He continued, gesturing towards Jenna – when Danny glanced over at her, Jenna twiddled her fingers at him in a greeting wave, a sarcastic, sickly-sweet smile on her face. "Is any'a this unclear?" Daryl asked for clarification.

Danny thought about it for a nanosecond before shaking his head. Daryl, seemingly placated with the response he'd gotten, finally yanked the duct tape off the man's mouth with a good deal of force. The bandit hissed but didn't make much sound otherwise, obviously afraid he'd be shot if he did.

"Now, first thing's first." Daryl said, getting right down to business. "Where were you boys headed tonight?"

Danny hesitated before answering. "N-nowheres in particular." He stuttered out. "We been camped out here for a week or so now, just livin' off what we can find 'n such. We was startin'ta run low on supplies, though, so we thought we'd have a look around, see if we could find anythin' useful."

Daryl 'hmph'ed at him doubtfully. "What'cha mean'ta say is that you thought you'd have a look around 'n see if there were any people'ta steal from, _right_?" He countered knowingly, not buying Danny's innocent act for even a second – when Danny didn't answer right away, Daryl narrowed his eyes at him in impatience. "You'd better answer my question." He threatened in a low voice.

Danny seemed to understand that he wasn't fooling Daryl. "Look, man," he said with a jittery smile, "it's the fuckin' _apocalypse_. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do'ta survive, right?"

A prickle of anger crept along Jenna's spine, but she held back any biting comments – Daryl, on the other hand, snorted in response and said, "That include beatin' the shit outta strangers 'n rapin' innocent women?" When Danny paled and glanced towards Jenna, Daryl smacked him again. _Hard_. "Don't look at her, look at me." He commanded.

"That weren't me sayin' that, 'member?" Danny finally said in a rushed voice. "That was all Buck threatenin' your lady." He added, jerking his head towards his unconscious partner and apparently not caring if he sold the man out. _Coward_, Jenna inwardly seethed.

Daryl immediately shook his head. "See, now you're lyin'ta my face, 'cause I remember _you_ bein' just as eager'ta get your hands on her as your friend here – and what was that 'bout some other woman not bein' any _'fun'_?" He reminded the bandit with a scowl on his face – without warning Daryl suddenly punched Danny in the face, making Jenna jump a little in surprise. As Danny groaned in pain, Daryl grabbed him by the throat and forced him to look at him again; Jenna had the vague notion that she should probably be disturbed with this on some level, but found, to her own surprise, that she was not. "Now tell me the truth – you boys done somethin' like this before, haven't ya?"

Danny breathed hard for a second then, with obvious reluctance, slowly nodded his head – Jenna's stomach immediately turned, a wave of sympathy for anyone that had crossed paths with these two low-lives rising up within, before she quite suddenly had to fight back feelings of nausea; how many others had there been before they had gotten to her and Daryl?

"Much better." Daryl said in approval now that the man was being more cooperative. "Next question." He continued. "You boys alone? Or are there more'a you waitin' somewhere else?"

"We…we _were_ in a group." Danny revealed slowly. "Big one…lots'a men, some women, some children…" He hesitated after that, looking a little unsure as to whether he should say more, but when Daryl tightened his grip around the man's neck, he quickly continued. "But we left." He hastily explained, though his voice was a little strained because of Daryl's hold. "Buck didn't like bein' ordered around, said he didn't wanna be no one's bitch."

"Where are they now?" Daryl demanded.

"Don't know." Danny answered with a shake of his head. "They moved around a lot, never stayed in one place for too long."

"Reckon they can't be too far, though…" Daryl prompted with raised eyebrows. "Where was their last camp?"

Danny gulped. "'Bout seven, maybe eight miles that'a way?" He answered, jerking his head to the right and motioning in the direction that Jenna and Daryl had gone earlier when going to investigate the truck. "That's why Buck 'n I decided to hole up, hide ourselves in this little cabin we found – they weren't too happy when we left, ya see...we though it best if we stayed outta sight for a while."

Jenna and Daryl immediately shared a look after he said this – there was only one cabin nearby that _they_ knew of. Could it be? Could these be the same men that had attacked that truck? For a moment Daryl looked to her in silent question, as though asking whether she thought he should ask Danny about it or not, and Jenna nodded her head at him encouragingly, wanting to know if these were the men responsible for whatever had happened down the road. But just as Daryl turned back to Danny, Buck chose that moment to start coming around again.

Daryl immediately released his hold on Danny's neck and turned his attention to Buck, slapping the man a few times on either side of his face to make him wake up faster. Once Buck was alert again he glanced around at each of them in confusion; when realization dawned on him and he remembered where he was and what had happened, he fixed a glare on Daryl. "Glad ya could finally join us." Daryl told him before jerking his head towards Danny. "Been havin' a nice little chat with your friend here – care'ta contribute?"

Buck immediately turned his head to glare daggers at his partner, who's brows furrowed in defense. "What was I s'posed'ta do?" Danny demanded incredulously. "Look at us! We in deep shit!"

Buck growled something at his fellow bandit, but since there was tape still in place over his mouth it was impossible to understand what he was saying – judging by the angry, defiant gleam in his eyes, he wasn't happy with Danny for caving and talking; Jenna could tell that Buck would be the more difficult and hardheaded of the two.

"Don't waste your time on that one." She suggested to Daryl when she saw that he was moving to pull the tape off Buck's mouth. "He's gonna be a pain in the ass, I can tell." Buck glared at her when she said this but she didn't pay him any mind, just looked to Danny expectantly as Daryl nodded, lowered his hand again, and redirected his attention to the first bandit.

"We found us a truck 'bout three miles down the road, looked like it'd been attacked." He revealed to Danny, whose eyes almost immediately widened. "You boys know anything 'bout that?"

When Danny looked to Buck, who met his comrade's gaze with narrowed, warning eyes, Jenna was fairly certain that they _did_. "I…I…" Buck shook his head, a silent command for Danny to keep his mouth shut, but Danny seemed torn as to what he should do – on the one hand, he didn't seem to want to anger his partner any further; on the other, he didn't want to make things worse for himself by being difficult.

Apparently his behavior had been more than enough to convince Daryl. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He said slowly, having gotten all the answer he needed. He thought long and hard for a moment before ripping the tape off of Buck's mouth, making the man hiss and let out a curse. "One last question." Daryl said, standing to his full height again and crossing his arms over his chest. "Either'a you shitheads seen a little girl out in these woods? Twelve years old, skinny, brownish hair, 'bout yay high?" He listed off, letting his hand hover about halfway between his waist and his ribs.

"What, can't keep track'a your own people?" Buck shot at him nastily now that he was free to talk, glaring at Daryl with the fire of a thousand hells. "Too fuckin' bad – I ain't tellin' you _shit_."

In the blink of an eye Daryl had reached behind Buck to wrap a hand around the arrow still in the bandit's shoulder – he then gave it a rough twist, making Buck howl with pain. Jenna cringed a bit, but it was more out of worry that the loud noise would attract walkers wandering near the area rather than out of sympathy for the man himself; now she understood exactly why Daryl had decided not to take the arrow out of Buck's shoulder.

"We found that cabin'a yours, _shithead_." Daryl growled, twisting the arrow again. "And I saw what ya did to them people – trust me when I say I'd be doin' this world 'n everyone in it a favor by puttin' a bullet between your eyes right here 'n now." Another twist of the arrow, another cry of pain on Buck's part. "Now tell me what I wanna know, asshole! Or this'll get a helluva lot worse!"

Buck, however, wasn't going to give in that easily. He glared at Daryl despite the pain he was feeling. "_Fuck you_." He snarled through clenched teeth, before immediately letting out another yell when Daryl twisted the arrow again.

Just as Jenna started contemplating whether the time had come for her to intervene with Daryl's interrogation, Danny took that moment to speak up again. "Alright, alright!" He cried, looking around with wide, apprehensive eyes. "I'll tell ya what'cha wanna know, just stop makin' him holler 'fore you attract every corpse in the damn _state_!"

Jenna, who immediately began to feel a strong sense of dread, looked to Danny sharply as he said this – Daryl also stopped what he was doing and turned his eyes over to the other man. "Talk." He commanded. "_Now_."

"We…we seen somethin' the other day…" Danny started to reveal.

"What the hell're you doin', asshole?" Buck hissed – Daryl whacked him to make him fall silent.

Danny hesitated for a second before continuing. "Like I said, we seen somethin' the other day while we were out huntin'. Looked like a kid, but…well, they scurried off so fast we couldn't be sure if it was a boy or a girl." He explained. "Definitely weren't a walker, though – moved too fast." He continued. "We tried'ta follow 'em to see what was goin' on, but they'd already disappeared."

Jenna frowned at hearing this while Buck just glared over at his partner with furrowed brows; Daryl didn't seem convinced. "You tellin' me the truth?" He asked Danny in an untrusting voice.

When Danny nodded, Daryl looked back and forth between the two men before releasing his hold on the arrow sticking out of Buck's shoulder – Buck let out an enormous sigh of relief – and turning to make his way over to Jenna. He stepped in close so that there were only a few inches of space between them and dropped his voice, clearly not wanting their conversation to be overheard.

"Whaddya think?" He asked doubtfully, his tone letting her know that he wasn't sure what to make of this new information.

Jenna glanced at the two bandits over his shoulder – both were watching her and Daryl very closely. "I dunno…it could be a trap." She told Daryl with a heavy sigh, keeping her voice low. "Then again I don't think Danny has the balls to lie to you, especially in a situation like this..." Then Jenna shrugged at him helplessly. "Either way, can we really afford _not_ to follow up on a possible lead?" She asked. "If they _did_ see her then maybe they could show us where she was, help us pick up on her trail again."

"And if they _didn't_ see 'er? If they're just takin' us out there'ta try an' ambush us?" Daryl questioned.

Jenna thought it over for a moment then ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I think it's a risk we're gonna have to take." She finally told him with a shrug. "I mean, this is _Sophia _we're talking about here…" Though Daryl was right and the men could just be fibbing to try and save their own skins, Sophia was still their main priority. And if these two bandits _had _seen her and could take them to the spot she'd been in, it could end up being their first substantial lead thus far.

Daryl watched her for a long moment then cast a look at the bandits over his shoulder, his eyebrows stitching together when he saw that they were whispering to each other now. "Both'a you shut your mouths." He barked, making the two men immediately fall silent. After glaring at them for good measure, he looked back to Jenna. "Alright." He finally agreed. "We'll do it – we'll have 'em show us where they saw the kid." Then he pointed his index finger at her. "But we ain't takin' any chances with 'em – if we do this we do it smart 'n we do it my way, got it?"

Jenna nodded in agreement. "Understood."

Daryl nodded his head then turned to make his way back over to Danny and Buck – the two bandits didn't take their eyes off of Daryl as he approached. "Here's the plan – tomorrow mornin' you two dipshits are gonna show us where ya saw the kid, understand?" He informed the, looming over the two men in a menacing way.

"And why the _hell_ would we do that?" Buck asked him condescendingly, his glare returning full force. "Why should we help you?"

"Well, you ain't exactly in a position'ta be tellin' me 'no', now are ya?" Daryl countered, throwing Buck's words from earlier that night right back at him. "Let me put it this way – either ya do it or we turn you boys into walker-bait." He told them simply, so they would know they didn't exactly have any other option _but _to do what he was asking. "Your choice."

Danny and Buck both stared at Daryl for a moment longer before turning looks on each other. After a few long seconds stretched by, in which the two bandits appeared to have some silent conversation, they finally turned their attention back to Daryl. "Alright." Buck said with a nod of his head. "We'll do it." But then he quickly added, "But only if ya promise to let us go after we have."

This made Daryl straighten up a little before he shot a look at Jenna over his shoulder – the fact that they were making demands was just a surprising to him as it was to her. Almost at once Jenna began shaking her head in vehement denial, eyes widened as she tried to wordlessly convey how stupid of an idea that was. Daryl turned back to the bandits. "I have'ta agree with my lady friend on this one – that don't sound like a very bright idea'ta me." He said slowly, making her shoulders sag in relief.

"Look, we know when we been beat." Danny spoke up with a heave. "We ain't tryin' to pull no funny business – hell, I dunno 'bout you guys but _I_ kinda wanna live." He said with a note of exasperation. "We'll just go our separate ways when this is all said 'n finished 'n leave each other alone." He continued. "Promise."

Silence followed Danny's statements, and when Jenna quickly realized that Daryl was _actually_ considering this proposal, her jaw dropped a little. "Daryl – " She started to say.

"I'll think about it tonight." He answered firmly, cutting off whatever Jenna was going to say. "You'll have an answer in the mornin'."

And with that being said, Jenna watched as Daryl retrieved the duct tape again and quickly fastened a piece over Buck's mouth first, then over Danny's. Then he came stalking back towards her and Jenna immediately frowned at him in disapproval. "What the hell are you thinking, Dixon?" She asked in an incredulous hiss.

Daryl just grabbed her by the arm as he passed by and continued on, leaving her with no choice but to follow him as he pulled her further out of the hearing range of Buck and Danny. "I'm thinkin' I'm tryin'ta buy us some time to come up with a plan." He answered once they were a safe distance away. "So keep your bitchin' to yourself."

"We _can't_ let them go." Jenna told him in a serious voice, ignoring his snippy remark. "That shouldn't even be an option – they'll come after us! You know that, Daryl!"

"Of course I know that." Daryl rebutted with furrowed eyebrows. "I may be a _hillbilly_," he continued, instantly reminding her of the first insult she'd ever hurled at him, "but I ain't a _stupid_ one." Jenna just heaved in response and crossed her arms huffily, shifting on her feet as she waited for him to continue. "Somethin's gonna have'ta be done with 'em…now we need'ta figure out what."

Silence fell between them after that, but within seconds it felt as though the figurative Giant Elephant had taken up residency with them on the highway, the obvious answer hovering over them and just waiting to be acknowledged – she knew what would probably have to be done with the two men and had a feeling that Daryl probably did as well, but neither seemed to want to be the first to actually say the words. She would admit that the thought of either of them killing an actual living, breathing human left her with a sick, heavy feeling in her stomach…but was there really any other choice in a 'kill or be killed' world?

Still...threatening to kill someone and actually _doing_ it were horses of two _very _different colors.

Jenna finally sighed and shook her head. "Like I said, if we let them go they're gonna come after us for revenge." She said slowly, finally deciding to just come out with it. "They could follow us and they could find the farm…hell, they might even be pissed off enough to go find their old buddies and get a little back-up. Lord knows a big group like that would _love_ to get their hands on a farm chocked full of food and medical supplies." Jenna then frowned up at him. "We _can't_ make the wrong call here, Daryl. Otherwise we're not just putting ourselves at risk but also endangering everyone on that farm, the group included."

Daryl heaved and crossed his arms over his chest, considering her words for a moment – when he met her gaze again and crinkled his eyes a little, she had the distinct feeling that he knew exactly what she was getting at. "So what you're sayin' is ya think we should kill 'em." He said bluntly, though this was more a statement than a question.

Jenna heaved and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Look, it's not like I'm _thrilled_ with the idea, but – " She started to explain.

"Rick wouldn't handle it like that." Daryl interrupted. "_You_ know that." He added, tossing her words right back at her. And he was right, because she was fairly certain that Rick _wouldn't_ have pulled the trigger if he had been in their position. "I'm not sayin' he'd be right'ta let 'em go 'cause these assholes need to be dealt with." Daryl added for clarification. "I'm just sayin' that he'd try'ta find another way."

"Well, what other way is there?" Jenna shot right back at him, eyebrows furrowing together. "Listen, you wanna know what happened the last time I ran into guys like them?" She asked, catching Daryl's full attention and making him straighten up a little bit. "When it was just me, Jon, and Bill left, we helped out a hitchhiker – he was one of _them_ only we didn't know it. The hitchhiker ended up leading his buddies to our camp, they _murdered_ my boyfriend's father in cold blood, then came for us. The only reason I got away was because Jon stayed behind to fight them off so I could get a head start...and guess what – they killed _him_ too without even batting an eyelash before coming after me." She explained in a hiss, making Daryl frown deeply. Jenna then pointed to the two bandits. "Guys like them are dangerous and ruthless and don't give two shits about other people. If we let them walk away from this, we might as well paint a target on our backs."

Daryl was silent for a long moment as he processed everything that she'd just told him –finally, after a long few seconds, he let out a heave and let his hands drop down to rest on his hips. "You've got a point." He finally said, though this didn't really provide Jenna with much comfort given the circumstances. "It's a shitty situation," he continued heavily, "but…you're right, these assholes are dangerous. Prob'ly would'a killed me if ya hadn't showed up when ya did…'n I don't even wanna think about what they woulda done'ta _you_." He added before shaking his head. "Then there's the people at the cabin'ta take into consideration..."

Jenna frowned when he said this – this was the second time he'd mentioned the people from the cabin in the span of a few minutes. With her curiosity now thoroughly peaked, she crossed her arms and pinned him with a firm stare; she had to know what had happened now, the not knowing would drive her insane. "What happened over there, Daryl?" Jenna finally asked. "What did you see?"

Daryl hesitated when she asked him this. "You're prob'ly better off not knowin'…" He told her evenly, looking uneasy with the idea of divulging the information she wanted.

"No, I wanna know." She argued back, standing her ground. "Tell me."

Daryl sucked in a long breath before letting it out as a heave. "The clothes in the cabin? The woman's clothes?" He asked slowly, eyes serious as they bored into hers. "Well...the woman that owned 'em was out back." Daryl paused and shifted on his feet, eyes turning elsewhere. "She was dead already, her 'n the guy she was with both...left out like yesterday's garbage. A walker had already started eatin' 'em – " She had to cringe at those words, stomach turning with disgust. " – but it was easy'ta see that they suffered through some pretty bad shit...that woman especially."

Jenna sighed as she processed the information and then slowly shook her head, her heart a little heavier now that she knew the truth. But this newfound information only further proved her point – Buck and Danny were dangerous and had no regard for human life; they couldn't release them into the world knowing everything that they had done.

"This _has_ to be done, Daryl – believe me when I say I hate the idea of having their blood on _either_ of our hands..." She told him honestly. "But if we let them go, they'll just keep doing this shit. And it might be one of _us_ that winds up losing in the end…hell, it could be _Sophia_ that they get a hold of next, for all we know." She finished with a deep frown.

Something in Daryl's eyes changed when she mentioned the possibility of Sophia falling victim to Buck and Danny – he seemed utterly infuriated with the idea. Daryl turned a hard look in the direction of the two men, thinking very hard about what he though should be done, but Jenna was already fairly certain that the fate of the bandits had already been decided.

"Alright then." Daryl agreed in a stiff voice, still glaring at the men. "I'll do it tomorrow, after they take us to that spot in the woods."

Jenna shook her head. "No, _we'll_ do it." She corrected. Daryl's eyes turned back to her sharply in surprise – clearly he hadn't expected her to make such an offer. "I talked you into it, I'll help you get the job done." She explained herself with a small, resolute frown. "We're in this one together, Dixon."

The tone of her voice and expression on her face let him know that she wasn't going to be argued with – she couldn't be sure, but Jenna thought she spotted a brief, grateful gleam in Daryl's blue eyes as he slowly nodded his head in understanding. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was relieved to know that he wouldn't have to carry out such a gruesome task on his own. "Okay." Daryl agreed.

Then, as silence fell between them for a long, tense moment, the look in his eyes became quite unreadable again, much like when she had been inspecting his injuries. Jenna wasn't sure what to make of his intense gaze, but when he finally turned to walk away, she released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "Start gettin' some packs ready for tomorrow." Daryl instructed over his shoulder. "I'll make sure our friends won't be able'ta get outta those ties tonight."

"Alright." Jenna said in agreement, glad to have a little space between her and Daryl – she didn't know what the hell was wrong with her or how she could suddenly be so affected by just a mere look from the crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon, but Jenna knew she didn't have time to figure it out right then. There were much more important things to worry about, like the captive bandits that they were planning on killing and the possibility that they might be one step closer to Sophia, for example.

So with that thought in mind, Jenna dutifully pushed away whatever this strange tension with Daryl was and went about her business, now concentrating firmly on everything that still needed be done as she set to work making up packs for their impending trip.

* * *

Neither Jenna nor Daryl got very much sleep that night – it was almost impossible to rest when there were two captive men only ten feet away and when the unpleasant notion that they would soon be sending those men to their graves continued to hang heavily over their heads.

Both were up and wide awake before the sun even rose for a new day and busied themselves by making sure everything in the camp was packed up – they'd come to the mutual decision the night before that no matter what they found today (or didn't find, if that was the case), the time had come to get off the highway and head for the farm to reconvene with the others; though Jenna hated the thought of leaving without Sophia, she _was_ happy that they would be off the road and back in the protective company of the group come nightfall.

Once the sun was finally up Jenna knew it wouldn't be long before they went into the woods again. With all of her things already packed away, she opened the truck door and leaned into the cab, pulling out the various weapons she'd need to bring with her from her ammunition bag – her hatchet was slid into the belt-loop of her jeans, a handgun (the one she'd taken from Danny) was stuffed back into the waistband of her jeans, before she then retrieved her shotgun from the driver's seat, where she'd left it while packing up the camp. She had just stuffed a handful of bullets and shells into her pocket when Daryl suddenly appeared by her side.

"You hungry?" Daryl asked, holding up two protein bars in each hand for her to see.

Jenna's eyes turned over to Daryl as she closed the door of her truck before they dropped down to the scant morsels – when she glanced over at the bandits, though, and remembered what she would be doing that day, Jenna realized that she didn't have much of an appetite. "Not really." She admitted dully. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

She started to move past him but Daryl stopped her by practically shoving a protein bar under her nose – she froze and frowned up at him in dissatisfaction. "Eat it anyway." He commanded, using an authoritative voice that caught her quite off guard. "Somethin' tells me this's gonna be a long day, 'n the last thing I need is you passin' out 'n leavin' me alone with those two dipshits."

"Fine, _master_." Jenna huffed, too sleep deprived and anxiety-ridden to have the patience for his bossiness. She still took the food out of his hand, though, hoping it would shut him up, and made quick work of opening the package before taking a large, dramatic bite, just to annoy him. "Happy now?" She asked sarcastically around a mouth full of protein bar.

Daryl's eyes narrowed a bit before he took a step closer. Jenna froze mid-chew, not sure what the look on his face meant or what his intentions were. "I don't know what the hell's wrong with ya, red, but ya better pull your shit together 'fore we take them into those woods." He told her in a low, warning voice. "I ain't tryin'ta die today."

That being said, Daryl turned his back on her and walked away, headed in the direction of Danny and Buck. Now feeling pretty foolish for taking her frustration over the situation out on Daryl – wasn't it _her_ that had said they were in this together only hours ago? – Jenna swallowed her bite of food and sighed heavily to herself. Daryl was right; she needed to pull herself together. No matter how sick it made her feel to know that she'd be taking a human life, the bottom line was that it needed to be done if she wanted to survive.

Quite suddenly she heard Sam's voice in her head, could vividly recall one of the last conversations they'd had back when her old group was still in Lake Charles, when this whole mess had only just begun – _You do __**whatever**__ you have to in order to get here, do you understand me? Even if it means fighting off other survivors_. And this was something that Sam had adamantly reiterated to her in the few brief conversations that followed until they eventually lost contact altogether. If he had been here now, Jenna knew he would have done the exact same thing that she and Daryl were now planning – and in an odd way, that knowledge made it a little bit easier to accept what she had to do.

Now feeling a bit more centered, Jenna finished her small breakfast then went to retrieve the packs she'd made up the night before. One was for her and Daryl, the other was for Buck and Danny, for when they 'sent them away'...or that was what they were telling them, anyway – In actuality it was just for show, a ploy to make Danny and Buck believe that Jenna and Daryl were going to hold true to their word and actually send them on their way with a few days worth of supplies; for another brief moment their planned deception made her feel like a rotten human being, but with a great deal of determination was able to push the feeling down.

Jenna finally joined Daryl by the bandits – he was giving the two men a rundown of how he expected their trip in the woods to progress – and waited patiently for him to finish. Once he had relayed the entirety of the plan he finally turned to face her, raising his eyebrows in question. "You good now?"

Jenna immediately nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm good." She reassured him.

Daryl nodded his head once, adjusted the crossbow hanging from his shoulder, then turned to make his way over the guardrail. He paused behind the two bandits for a moment, though, glaring down at them untrustingly. "Try anything stupid 'n you're dead, got that?" He reminded them sharply.

After Buck and Danny both nodded their heads, Daryl shot her a meaningful look then slowly crouched down so he could undo Danny's ties. Jenna had her shotgun raised and at the ready in a heartbeat, barely blinking as she kept it trained on Danny, ready to jump into action if he tried anything. He watched her with wide eyes and even gulped a little but didn't make any move to try to attack Daryl, who quickly raised his weapon out of precaution when the bandit was free to stand – Danny stretched a little once he was on his feet then looked between the two of them with pleading eyes.

"_Please_ have mercy and let a guy take a leak before you tie 'im up again." He begged, practically dancing on his feet by now.

Daryl heaved in annoyance, shot a look in Jenna's direction, then motioned for Danny to move. "Go over here where the lady can't see." He commanded impatiently as Danny scampered past him to go to the bathroom behind a nearby car – Daryl trailed after him to make sure he wasn't up to something, crossbow raised just incase. "And make it quick!" He commanded before the two vanished from sight.

Now that it was just her and Buck in the camp, Jenna shuffled on her feet uncomfortably. Buck's head had been tilted back as he watched Daryl and Danny depart but now he had lifted it again so he could look at her instead – when his eyes did a quick sweep of her form, a shiver of disgust shot down Jenna's spine. "Hey, eyes above the neck, pal." She snapped, turning her gun in his direction to let him know she meant business.

Buck just grinned back at her as he met her gaze. "You're a perty little thing – no wonder that boyfriend'a yours wanted to keep you all to 'imself." He said slowly, making her pull a face. "What's a lady of your caliber doin' with a rough neck like him, anyway? You that desperate?"

Jenna quirked a condescending eyebrow at him, but saw no point in correcting Buck about the status of her and Daryl's relationship given the circumstances. "What, you think you'd be a better match, Bucky-boy?" She shot at him scornfully – when he shrugged innocently in response, she couldn't hold back a spiteful laugh. "You say the same thing to that poor woman back at your cabin, too?" She tossed at him. That made his grin falter. "Sorry to break it to you, but you aren't even half the man that _rough neck_ is." Jenna continued with a sardonic smile. Then she scoffed and eyed him with blatant dislike. "You know, it really is a pity this apocalypse took so many innocents but left behind so many _assholes_."

With that zinger lingering in the air Jenna turned and made quick work of fastening a pack onto her back – it felt good to give Buck a piece of her mind, but it felt better to see how badly it got under his skin. He was glaring at her with open animosity when she chanced a look in his direction again, not bothering to hide how angry she had just made him. He was grumbling something under his breath but she couldn't make out the words, nor did she even really care to know what he was saying.

After a minute or so Daryl and Danny came walking back into view, Danny leading the way while Daryl trailed behind him with his crossbow raised and at the ready. "Bring me that rope?" He called to her, inclining his head in the direction of the rope. Jenna nodded and went to retrieve it, keeping a careful eye on Danny the whole time – once Daryl had the rope he swung his crossbow onto his shoulder and quickly tied the bandit's hands behind his back. Then he pushed him a little to make him lean against a nearby car.

"Wait here." Daryl instructed sternly before motioning for Jenna to keep her eyes on the man. "Watch him." He told her, already headed over to Buck so he could release him from his restraints. "You need the little boy's room, too?" He asked as he made quick work of undoing Buck's ties.

Buck shook his head, eyes turning up to glare at Jenna one last time. "Nah, I'm good." He answered, getting to his feet and cracking his back for a moment before willingly placing his hands behind his back. "Let's just get this shit over with." He said gruffly.

"Fair enough." Daryl said with a nod before quickly tying Buck's hands together behind his back. With both bandits now incapacitated again, Daryl stepped back over the guardrail and accepted the spare pack that Jenna offered to him. "This is for you two when we send ya on your way." Daryl lied, holding it up for Buck and Danny to see – Jenna refused to meet anyone's gaze, not wanting the two men to see the deception in her eyes. "Long as ya show us where ya saw that kid 'n don't try anything dumb, we'll all walk away from this in the end."

Buck and Danny shared a look for a brief moment, but Jenna couldn't determine what that look meant. "Sounds like a plan..." Buck slowly agreed with a nod.

"Okay, let's go then." Daryl said, motioning for Danny and Buck to take the lead. As the two bandits stepped over the guardrail and headed off, walking slowly so as to avoid falling down the hill that led into the woods, Jenna started in that direction as well – she paused, however, when Daryl stopped her with a hand on her arm. "If anything goes south, shoot 'em." He instructed quietly. "No questions asked – I don't trust these guys further than I can throw 'em."

"Okay." Jenna said, nodding in agreement.

"And stay close'ta me, too." He added, furrowing his brows a little.

Again, she nodded. "I will."

"Good…" He said before nodding his head in the direction of the forest. "C'mon."

And with that the two of them trailed after the two bandits, keeping their weapons up and trained on the two men as they started yet another (and hopefully their _last_) trek through the forest.

* * *

**Thoughts? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to anyone who reviews/alerts/favorites the story. I'm having a fun time writing it, so I hope you're all having a fun time reading it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to the Walking Dead.**

* * *

_Chapter 11_

For an hour and a half the quartet consisting of Jenna, Daryl, Buck, and Danny crunched and cracked their way through the dense, Georgian woods. The two bandits first guided them along the creek that Sophia had first disappeared by for a while before leading them across a small bridge (really it was just a tree that had fallen over) and continuing on into a thicker part of the forest. Never once did Daryl or Jenna dare to lower their weapons as they travelled along, constantly on guard around the two men despite the fact that they were currently in no position to fight back, and they continued on like this with minimal fuss for quite a long time – eventually, though, the two men stopped their forward motion and turned back to Jenna and Daryl, making them come to an immediate halt.

"We need a break." Buck informed them, panting pretty hard from the exertion of their trip – he was drenched in sweat and even a little red in the face. "If I don't _sit _down, I'm gonna _fall _down."

Jenna and Daryl, who had both logged a considerable amount of walking hours by this point and weren't even winded yet, shared an irritated look. "We haven't even gone that far yet." Daryl protested, lowering his crossbow some and looking to the bandit in disapproval. "Suck it up 'n keep goin'."

"Hey, _ya'll _were the ones eatin' breakfast 'n drinkin' water 'fore we came out here." Danny argued back, coming to his friend's defense. "_We_ ain't ate 'r drank since yesterday, so why don't ya just cut us a little slack here, huh?"

With a heavy sigh, Jenna turned her gaze back up to Daryl's. "Why don't we let 'em take a breather." She suggested, raising her eyebrows at him – when Daryl finally nodded his head in agreement after a few long seconds of consideration, Buck dropped down to take a seat on a dead, fallen-over tree while Danny sighed in relief and leaned back against a tree of his own.

Jenna motioned for Daryl to turn around, and when he did so she unzipped the pack on his back to pull out a bottle of water. "You ain't givin' that'ta _them_, are ya?" Daryl asked once he'd turned around again and saw that she was heading towards the bandits.

"If this is what it takes to make them stop bitching and keep moving, so be it." Jenna said with a shrug of resignation. Then, before Daryl could protest any further, she turned to go and give a bit of water to the dehydrated men, hoping it would make this process a little easier – she stopped in front of Danny first and motioned for him to tilt his head back. "Open up."

Danny did as he was told, then made a noise of relief when she poured some water into his mouth. Jenna only let him have a few mouthfuls before she backed away and turned to make her way toward Buck next. "Thanks." Danny called gratefully.

"Uh huh." Was Jenna's noncommittal response.

Buck leered at her as she approached, which didn't surprise her much, and flashed a wide grin when she came to a halt in front of him. "You seem like you're feeling better." She commented dryly, wondering if he'd been faking it just to mess with them. "Open your mouth." Jenna then instructed firmly, wiggling the water bottle in front of his face a bit – Buck finally did so and she let him drink a few mouthfuls of water as well.

"Feelin' _much _better now…" He said with an appreciative smack of his lips when she pulled the water bottle away. "Thanks, sweetlips." He added, winking up at her – Jenna just rolled her eyes in response before heading back to where Daryl was without another word, able to feel Buck's eyes on her the entire way.

Daryl was openly glaring at Buck once Jenna had stopped by his side again. She quirked a questioning eyebrow at him – which he ignored – then glanced behind her to see that Buck was smirking back at Daryl condescendingly, the expression on his face a challenging one. "Ignore him." Jenna told Daryl in a hushed voice, making his eyes dart over to hers. "He isn't worth the energy."

There was a look on Daryl's face that led her to believe he had a thing or two he wanted to say on the matter, but he instead kept his mouth shut and nodded his head one curt time. Though Jenna was surprised that Daryl had reacted so negatively to the way Buck was behaving towards her, she didn't dare say anything about – instead she took a few drinks from the water bottle in her hand then offered it to Daryl. He looked down at the bottle and shook his head, silently declining.

"I'm good." He said, shifting on his feet a little while his eyes turned away to survey the surrounding area – there was still a hint of irritation lingering in his furrowed eyebrows.

Jenna eyed him for a silent moment, then sighed to herself as she refastened the cap on the water bottle and shoved it back into the pack hanging from Daryl's shoulder. Daryl cast a sideways look at her when she did this but quickly turned his attention elsewhere when she managed to catch his eye again. "I hope we're almost there." Jenna commented, just to find something to talk about and break the semi-awkward silence. "I'm over these woodland adventures – I just wanna find Sophia and join up with the group again."

Daryl nodded in agreement. "Second that." He told her, glancing at her briefly before focusing in on Buck and Danny – the two men had taken to quietly conversing with one another, but stopped the instant they realized they had Daryl's attention. "Must be catchin' your second wind if ya can whisper sweet little nothin's to each other." He shot at them flatly, which pulled similar looks of annoyance from the men. "How much further?"

The first warning bell of the day sounded through Jenna's conscious when Buck and Danny shared a quick – but _meaningful_ – look with each other. "Not much." Buck answered after only a nanosecond of hesitation. "'Bout another quarter-mile that-a-ways?" He estimated, jerking his head to indicate the appropriate direction.

Jenna would be the first to admit that this new world and all of its new dangers had made her a rather paranoid person – there was a possibility that she was reading into it too much, but something about the look Buck and Danny had just shared felt a little…_conspiratorial_. She spared a quick glance in Daryl's direction to see if he'd noticed it as well but the expression on his face was flat, making it impossible to tell; if he _had _noticed, he was _very _good at hiding it.

"Aight, then. Break's over." Daryl announced, raising his crossbow again and using it to motion the two bandits back to their feet. "Let's get movin'."

The two bandits grumbled under their breaths but did as they were told and moved to start picking their way through the trees again. Daryl started to follow them but Jenna placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him before he could get very far – since every shirt he owned seemed to be sleeveless, her hand landed on bare skin; the contact made Daryl jump a little, much like the night before. "I've got a funny feeling about this..." She informed him in a whisper, ignoring his reaction as she retracted her hand again.

Daryl frowned a bit when she said this, but otherwise didn't offer much in response. "Yeah, you ain't the only one…but we can't exactly turn back now." He said, almost with a note of resignation. "Just stay on your guard 'n don't – "

But they both froze and fell silent when a twig snapped somewhere in the surrounding foliage in the next moment. Since the sound had not come from in front of them – where Buck and Danny were starting to stomp their way through the trees again – they both knew that something else had to have been the cause. Jenna turned her head to share a look with Daryl, then readjusted her grip on her shotgun. "Maybe we should keep moving?" She suggested uneasily – Lord only knew what else was in the woods with them, but Jenna decided that she'd rather not find out; there was enough on her and Daryl's plate already.

"Reckon you're right." Daryl agreed, before they both started after the departing bandits.

For the next ten or so minutes the four continued along in relative silence, Buck and Danny leading the way while Jenna and Daryl trailed behind them, weapons trained on their backs but eyes darting all around them with hawk-like alertness, always on the lookout for trouble. With her paranoia already piqued after the brief conversation with the bandits during their break, every sound in the forest seemed magnified and had her anxiety on the rise – everything about this situation was making her incredibly uneasy, and, once again, she found herself hoping it would all be over soon.

When they came to another creek – or maybe it was the same creek and it had just looped back around, she honestly wasn't sure – Buck suddenly stopped for the second time and turned around to face them. Jenna and Daryl both came to an abrupt halt and regarded him untrustingly. "We got a problem." He announced, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Jenna and Daryl shared a sideways look. "What kinda problem?" Daryl asked slowly, skeptically.

Buck pulled a face before shifting on his feet uncomfortably. "I gotta use the little boy's room – _real _bad."

Daryl's expression turned to one of annoyance. "Sounds like a _personal _problem." He countered uncaringly. "You're gonna have'ta hold it – now keep movin'." He instructed, waving the man forward again with his crossbow.

Buck immediately scowled at Daryl. "Holdin' it ain't gonna be a possibility, _friend_." The bandit growled through clenched teeth. "I ain't used the bathroom all day, 'case ya forgot." He reminded them. "An' since I ain't gonna be the idiot that pissed 'is pants, I refuse'ta take one step closer'ta where that kid was 'less ya untie me 'n let me take a leak." After he said that, Buck paused before turning a leering grin in Jenna's direction. "Either that 'r your _girlfriend_ can lend me a…_helpin' hand_…which I certainly wouldn't mind."

Jenna didn't have time to feel angry or offended by his comment, because she immediately had to reach out and grab the back of Daryl's shirt to stop him from making a confrontational move in Buck's direction. "Daryl, don't." She quickly said, pulling him back to her with the grip she had on his shirt until she could place a hand on his arm instead – Jenna wanted to keep things calm so as to avoid anything unexpectedly going awry. "He's just trying to piss you off." And judging by the scowl on Daryl's face, Buck was doing a good job of it.

Daryl, without lowering his weapon, cast a quick look down at her from the corner of his eye. Finally, he lowered his crossbow and pointed a warning finger in Buck's direction. "I've about had it with you." He said with blatant loathing on his face.

"Feelin's mutual,_ Robin._" Buck shot back flatly. "Now can I take a piss so we can get this bullshit over with?"

Daryl looked down at Jenna for a moment – though she wasn't comfortable with the idea on _any _level, Jenna didn't doubt that Buck would hold true to his threat and _not _take them any further unless they gave in to his demands. She shrugged a shoulder up at him, not seeing anyone out of it, and readjusted the grip on her shotgun again. "Just do it." Jenna told Daryl with a resigned sigh. "We'll handle it like we did with Danny back at camp."

Daryl was quiet for a very long moment as he contemplated how best to handle the situation. "I ain't got all day." Buck reminded them loudly. "An' I'd bet my bottom dollar that _girl _you're lookin' for don't either…"

A muscle in Daryl's jaw twitched. "Don't take your weapon off 'im for a _second_." He told Jenna in low voice before heading towards Buck.

Jenna's heart immediately began to hammer against her chest but she pushed down her mounting anxiety and aimed her gun at Buck, trying to keep her breathing steady as he turned around and allowed Daryl to begin working at the ties binding his wrists. She glanced over towards Danny for a quick second – he had been standing idly by about seven feet away, watching the scene unfold in silence. "Stay where I can see you." Jenna instructed, shooting him a pointed look before focusing her eyes back on Buck.

Once Buck was free he stepped forward a few feet to relieve himself next to a large tree – Jenna pulled a face as the sound of the bandit going to the bathroom filled the air around them and shifted on her feet, noting the annoyed expression on Daryl's face; he was standing only feet from Buck and has his crossbow aimed directly at the back of the bandit's head.

"How much further from here?" Jenna had to ask, just so she wouldn't have to listen to the sounds of Buck's bathroom break.

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but Buck beat him to the punch. "Not very far at all. Maybe fifteen, twenty yards?" He answered before sighing in relief as he continued to pee. "Ahhhhh…best piss I ever had…"

Jenna shook her head and resisted the urge to tell Buck how disgusting he was. "Hurry up." Daryl barked, looking as though he had run out of patience.

"Hey man, ya can't rush somethin' like this." Buck shot at Daryl over his shoulder, which earned him a seething look in return. Buck just chuckled a little before finishing up and rightening himself again. "Much better." He said, stepping away from the tree and turning to make his way back to Daryl – Jenna and Daryl both raised their weapons a little higher, stood a little straighter. "Relax." Buck scoffed, turning his back to Daryl and willingly bringing his hands together behind him. "I ain't tryin'ta die, 'member?" He reminded them, shooting a pointed look towards Jenna.

Several things happened in the next moment.

Daryl had just stepped up behind Buck to start binding his wrists again when a loud snap reverberated off the trees on Jenna's left. The unexpected noise made an already anxious and paranoid Jenna whip around in surprise, caught off guard by the sound and wanting to find the source. But the instant she had unthinkingly turned her attention – and her weapon – away from Buck, he suddenly yelled, "NOW!" and threw an elbow up, catching an unsuspecting Daryl underneath the chin and making him stumble back away from him.

No more than a second could have passed before the new commotion had Jenna turning in surprise again, just in time to see Buck pounce on Daryl. "Hey!" She yelled angrily, already turning her shotgun back towards the bandit. "Get your – "

But her threat was cut short when Danny, whom she'd momentarily forgotten about in all the uproar, sent her toppling to the ground with a hard kick to her side. "Oof!" Jenna grunted as she landed on the ground, just before a searing pain suddenly tore through her left thigh – Jenna had landed on the side that her hatchet had been hanging on, and the sharp blade had sliced the outside of her thigh, leaving a sizeable gash in its wake.

Though already in a considerable amount of pain, she realized she'd dropped her shotgun and fought past her injuries, scrambling to grab the weapon – Danny, however, delivered another hard kick to her stomach before she could reach it and sent her flopping to her back, face screwed up in pain. Since his hands were still bound behind his back it was impossible for him to pick up the weapon; he kicked it out of Jenna's reach instead. Then he came towards her with purposeful steps, already rearing back to kick her for a third time – Jenna saw this, and even though her ribs were throbbing in protest now, she quickly pulled herself together before grabbing the leg he had braced all of his weight was on and yanking with all her might. Now off balance and unable to steady himself without the use of his arms, Danny fell to the ground with a hard _thud_.

Jenna scrambled to her feet again, limping a little and cringing in pain, and quickly looked to see what was happening with Daryl and Buck – though Buck had caught Daryl by surprise with his initial attack, her companion had quickly recovered and was now wrestling and exchanging more punches with the large bandit, fighting to keep control of the situation. Jenna reached for the pistol that she had stuffed into the back of her pants and wrapped her fingers around it, already prepared to shoot Buck before things between him and Daryl could escalate any further, when an arm fitted its around her neck, taking her by surprise – before she knew it, the arm around her neck had tightened, cutting off her air supply.

"What're you gonna do now, bitch?" Danny growled in her ear – he must have been able to wiggle his arms out from under him while he'd been down on the ground, because though his wrists were still bound, his hands were now in front of him rather than behind. He tightened his hold on her neck even further, making her gasp for air and start to claw at his arm in a vain attempt to free herself. "Go ahead – fight. You'll just die faster." Jenna gasped again when he tightened his hold even further. "Know what the best part is? We didn't see no kid out here." He admitted with a cruel laugh. "How does it feel'ta know you're gonna die for _nothin_'?"

Though the information should have shocked her to the core, things were starting to get too hazy to feel surprised or betrayed – her thoughts were starting to become a little disjointed, and her struggle to break free of his hold took a little more effort, a little more willpower. "Jenna!" She was only vaguely aware of Daryl's panicked yell, because the ringing in her ears was soon starting to become too loud to be able to hear the commotion around her anymore. She gasped desperately for air, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, and felt her muscles slowly starting to go lax. And when darkness started to creep in on her, Jenna knew that was it. That she and Daryl had been suckered into this trap and were now going to suffer the dearest consequences. They would never find Sophia, never return to the group…she would never find Sam…

Quite suddenly, Jenna could breathe again.

It took a few long moments, but when she started to become conscious of her surroundings again, she realized that she had fallen to the forest floor and was hunched over on her hands and knees, coughing violently and greedily sucking in air as fast as she possibly could. She didn't understand what had happened or why Danny had let her go and looked around in confusion as the darkness faded from her vision, feeling as though everything around her was happening in slow motion – Daryl was still trying to fend Buck off but kept looking in her direction; though his mouth was moving, Jenna couldn't hear the words over the ringing in her ears. When he kept looking pointedly at something behind her, she finally, _slowly_, turned her head to see what was going on – and what Jenna saw made her eyes go wide.

Apparently all of the chaos that had erupted in the past few minutes had drawn the attention of walkers, because three corpses had just wandered into the area, fingers already grappling hungrily in the air and teeth gnashing threateningly. One of the decaying creatures had grabbed Danny from behind and imbedded its teeth into his neck, which is what (she assumed) had made him let her go; even though she couldn't quite hear it yet because her senses were just now slowly returning to normal, Jenna could see that the bandit was screaming with agony.

This new turn of events had been enough to bring a halt to Daryl and Buck's fight – they both stopped mid-punch to eye the incoming monsters before turning acid looks on each other. As their spar resumed, this time with renewed force, Jenna managed to scramble up to her feet even though she was still coughing and not feeling one-hundred percent up to speed. When she realized that one of the chompers had set its sights on _her_, she grabbed for the gun in the waistband of her pants again. With a curse Jenna realized it was gone, that she had dropped it by accident when Danny started choking her.

"Jenna!" She was finally able to hear Daryl call out as the ringing in her ears ceased, his tone still holding a note of panic.

"H-hold on!" Jenna called back, her voice scratchy and strained from Danny's attempted strangling.

Since her guns were missing-in-action, the only weapon left for her to fight with was her hatchet, which she quickly grabbed and wielded defensively. The walker headed straight for her was only feet away, and even though her leg and ribs and throat were hurting like hell, Jenna braced herself for the incoming attack. The walker quickened its pace, growing wilder in its anticipation, but when it swiped for her Jenna ducked out of the way – she shoved the thing as hard as she could as she straightened up her full height again, then brought the hatchet down into its skull to kill it.

As the corpse fell to the ground, she glanced over to see that Buck had finally managed to pin Daryl to a tree, too caught up in trying to strangle him to death to be aware of the fact that a walker was ambling its way in his and Daryl's direction. Jenna cursed, looked around quickly, then finally spotted her handgun amongst the leaves and branches littering the forest floor – it was next to Danny, who was still being eaten by the walker that had grabbed him. Without hesitation Jenna hobbled over, took out the walker eating Danny – she noticed that the bandit wasn't moving anymore – then grabbed the pistol. Instead of taking out the last remaining walker in the area, however, she took aim at Buck and pulled the trigger.

First there was a loud _BANG _that reverberated off the trees, then a howl of pain. "Son of a bitch!" Buck cried out. The bullet had gone through his leg and had him releasing Daryl as he stumbled backwards.

Now free to move and breathe again, Daryl took one look at the incoming zombie before rearing back and kicking Buck square in the stomach – the large bandit staggered on his feet but was unable to regain his balance because of his wounded leg; he went tumbling backwards and fell right into the outstretched arms of the walker, which began mercilessly ravishing the flesh of his shoulder.

With the walker now thoroughly occupied with the meal it'd just been thrown, Daryl took a second to catch his breath before hurrying over to Jenna's side, looking her over with searching eyes. "You okay?" He asked in concern, eyes on her bleeding leg.

"I'm fine, I just fell on my hatchet." She said with a wince. "Hurts like a son of a bitch, though – ribs do, too."

Buck was screaming in pain as the walker continued its assault on his neck and shoulder only some ten feet away, but both Jenna and Daryl ignored him. "Here, hang on'ta my shoulders." He instructed, reaching behind him to retrieve the handkerchief that always seemed to be hanging from his back pocket – Jenna did as she was told and held onto his broad shoulders for balance as he leaned over, grabbed hold of her left leg, then started firmly wrapping the wound with his handkerchief; she was half expecting him to start yelling at her for turning her weapon off Buck and causing the mess they'd just managed to survive, but instead he just frowned in concentration and tied the handkerchief tight, making her press her lips together to keep from making a noise of discomfort.

"That should help slow the bleedin'." Daryl said, straightening up again – he glanced sharply to the right in the next moment when the sounds of another incoming walker reached their ears.

Jenna dropped her hands from his shoulders as Daryl pulled his large hunting knife from its sheath and went to put the zombie out of its misery. As her eyes turned over towards Buck, who's screams were slowly started to die down, it finally started to sink in that she and Daryl _weren't _about to be murdered in the middle of the woods, nor would they have to be the ones that ended the lives of Buck and Danny; a huge wave of relief passed through her.

"Never thought I'd say this…but thank God the walkers came." She said with humorless shake of her head when Daryl appeared by her side again; Jenna wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or horrified when Buck stopped moving altogether.

"I wouldn't thank anyone yet – that gunshot'll attract every walker for miles." Daryl reminded her, already rounding any of his weapons that had gotten thrown around during his fight with Buck. "We need'ta get movin'."

Jenna nodded and limped over to where her shotgun was – after returning the hatchet to its place in her belt-loop and the handgun to the waistband of her pants, she leaned over to snatch up the shotgun and the pack that had fallen off during the struggle. The chomper that had been feasting on Buck suddenly looked up at her with interest, but before it could even think to move towards her an arrow had planted itself into its temple. Daryl then went up to the walker, retrieved his arrow from its skull, and reloaded his crossbow.

"That leg okay to walk?" He asked, turning toward her once he was ready to go – the expression on his face was all business.

"It'll have to be." Jenna said with a shrug. "Let's just get out of here."

"Aight then." Daryl said, squinting his eyes at her for a moment before motioning for her to follow him with a quick jerk of his head. "C'mon."

* * *

Since Buck and Danny's 'sighting' of a child in the woods had been complete horse manure – and because walkers had started coming out the woodwork after hearing the gunshot – Jenna and Daryl decided it would be best not to linger in the forest and get back to the highway as fast as they could. Though she wasn't overly surprised to learn that the two men had been lying all along – they _were _bandits, after all – that still didn't stop her from feeling like a _complete _moron for falling for it, nor did it keep her from feeling disheartened to know that they _weren't _one step closer to Sophia after all.

After about an hour of walking, the cut on Jenna's leg was starting to become very bothersome – the pressure of walking and the occasional brush of twigs and bushes against her leg was starting to cause her a serious amount of discomfort. She'd been trying not to let it show, not wanting to slow Daryl down since he seemed determined to get back to the road as quickly as he could, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up with his brusque, purposeful pace for much longer if they didn't take a break soon.

When the pain eventually became too much to ignore, Jenna finally had to stop and lean against a tree for support. "Daryl, wait." She called with a grimace, making him slow to a stop and shoot a questioning look in her direction. "I feel like my leg's gonna _explode_ if I take one more step." She told him truthfully.

Daryl frowned and retraced his steps, coming back towards her – he only paused for a second when a walker appeared from around a tree about twenty feet away so he could raise his crossbow and take the thing out without a second thought; so far, they'd killed at least seven chompers on the way back to the road, as they had begun congregating in this part of the forest after being attracted by the loud gunshot.

Once Daryl was in front of her he eyed her leg for a moment – both the top part of her pant leg and his handkerchief had a good amount of blood staining it. With an uncertain look on his face, his gaze shifted up to meet hers. "We'll have those people at the farm look ya over." He said. "But for now we should keep movin'." He added slowly. "We need'ta get back'ta the road."

"I know…" She responded with a heavy sigh, knowing they couldn't risk staying in the forest for much longer. "I know."

Daryl eyed her for another moment before wordlessly slinging his crossbow onto his shoulder and grabbing her by the arm. "Here, lean on me." He instructed, pulling her arm up and around his shoulders and leaving her with no choice but to use him for support. Jenna ignored the strange feelings that erupted within when he locked a strong arm around her waist and anchored her to his side so he could keep her steady. "Good?"

He was very close to her, so close that for a moment she could only stare at him – had his eyes always been that blue? And how had she never noticed the beauty mark near the corner of his mouth? Jenna blinked to quickly bring herself back to the present. "Yeah, good." She answered with a fast nod – now that some of the pressure was off her leg, it wouldn't be quite as painful to proceed

With that they set off again, their pace much slower now that Daryl was helping her along. For a long while they walked in silence, as though neither were sure what to say after everything that had just happened – if those walkers hadn't shown up, Danny would have undoubtedly choked her to death. Then again, if the walkers hadn't show up, Jenna would have never been distracted in the first place and wouldn't have turned her weapon off of Buck; her near death experience might have never even happened.

"I'm sorry." Jenna said out of nowhere, making Daryl look to her quickly. "What happened back there was all my fault. If I hadn't turned my gun off of Buck – "

"You apologize a lot, ya know that?" Daryl interrupted, making her frown up at him in confusion – why wasn't he angrier about this, especially considering the fact that she'd seen him fly off the handle for much less? "Look, shit happens. An' shit's gonna _keep _happenin', so ya might as well get used'ta that." He continued matter-of-factly. "No use cryin' over spilled milk – learn from experience 'n move on." Daryl did take a quick moment to quirk an eyebrow at her though. "Just don't do it again." He suggested before turning his eyes forward again.

Jenna stared up at him for a long second, unsure what to make of his response, before sighing and turned her attention forward again as they ambled along. "I thought I was done for back there." She admitted in a small voice, eyes turning down to the forest floor. "I've been in plenty of sticky situations since all this happened, but…I _really _felt like that was it."

It was a moment or two before Daryl responded. "…I thought so, too." This made Jenna look up at him again – he was gazing back at her, the expression on his face – as always – impossible to read. "I tried'ta get free, tried'ta shake Buck off when I saw what was happenin' – " He began to explain.

Jenna shook her head, making him fall silent. "Shit happens, remember?" She reminded him with a small smirk; he hesitated, but then nodded slowly in response. "We're alive and the walkers took care of Buck and Danny for us – all things considered, I'd say we're comin' out ahead on this one."

"Still no Sophia, though." Daryl said, a small, frustrated frown working its way onto his features.

Jenna sighed at that. "Yeah, no Sophia." She echoed in a discouraged tone. "Almost three whole days in this damn forest and we didn't come up with _anything_." Jenna continued, shaking her head. "Carol will be so disappointed."

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed together. "We'll just have'ta keep lookin'." He told her resolutely. "She's out there somewhere – long as we keep pushin', we'll find 'er."

Jenna didn't know why, but his refusal to give up on Sophia was touching and made the region around her heart feel a little bit warm. Daryl Dixon – hot-headed, crossbow-wielding, loud-mouthed redneck extraordinaire – was beginning to prove to her that he was more than just an ignorant hillbilly (as she had believed him to be upon first meeting him). He'd put his own life at risk not only for Jenna, but also for Sophia, and it seemed like he had every intention of _continuing _to do so if he had any say in the matter. Not for the first time Jenna found herself amazed by this less abrasive side to Daryl that must normally be kept very carefully concealed; once again, she was hit with the notion that Daryl _wasn't_ as unfeeling and detached from the group as he wanted everyone to think he was.

"You know something, Dixon?" Jenna found herself saying. "You're not as horrible as I thought you were."

Daryl snorted and quirked an eyebrow at her. "You gettin' a blood infection or somethin'?" He asked sarcastically. "Cause if I didn't know no better, I'd say that was a compliment."

Jenna couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Oh, heaven _forbid_ someone actually say something _nice _about you…" She grumbled grumpily, ignoring the amused smirk that momentarily spread across his face – if her leg had been feeling better she would have stomped away from him, just to prove some sort of point. "Believe it or not, it wouldn't kill you to be friendly or pay someone a compliment." She shot at him.

Daryl readjusted the arm around her waist when they had to step over a large tree trunk, making sure she stayed supported as they made their way over – Jenna was glad that her cheeks were already red from the walking and heat of the sun, that way he couldn't see the blush threatening to rise up because of their close proximity. "Huh…" He grunted out, though she wasn't sure if the thoughtful look on his face was genuine or sarcasm. Finally he shrugged a little underneath her arm. "Well…_you_ didn't turn out'ta be as helpless as I thought ya'd be – how's that?"

Now she knew for sure that he was being sarcastic, but, if she wasn't mistaken, it was more in a joking way than a malicious one. "_So _sweet of you to say." Jenna told him in an equally sarcastic tone, batting her eyes at him for a second. "Be still, oh beating heart of mine."

Daryl just rolled his eyes, though he didn't seem quite as annoyed with her sarcasm as he normally would have been. "Smartass." He accused, making her laugh a bit to herself before they both fell silent and dropped the subject.

Forty five minutes and three more dead walkers later, they made it back to the highway. Though there wasn't much more conversation had between them, Daryl let Jenna lean on him for support the entire time (which as confusing as it was to admit it, she honestly couldn't say that she minded all that much) – when it came time to climb back up the hill that would take them up to the highway, Daryl dropped his arm from around her waist and steadied her with a hand on her back instead, telling her to go first so he would be there to catch her incase her leg gave out. The climb was a bit of a struggle but they finally made it to the top, both breathing sighs of relief when they caught sight of the familiar setting waiting for them.

"Finally." Jenna breathed as they crossed over the guardrail and stepped back onto the road. "Now let's forget today happened and get the hell outta here before something _else _goes wrong."

"Couldn't've said it better myself." Daryl agreed with a nod of his head, already starting toward his motorcycle – thank God they had decided to pack up _before _going into the woods; all they had to do now was get in their respective vehicles and head out. "You got enough fuel'ta make it to the farm?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Jenna said, giving him a quick thumbs up as she hobbled over to the truck – she paused, though, when she spotted a piece of paper tucked underneath one of the windshield wipers.

Jenna retrieved the note and unfolded it, eyes scanning over the words quickly. "Looks like some of the group came to check on us while we were gone." She said, looking toward Daryl with a small smile on her face. "_J & D – Andrea, Shane, and I came to make sure you were doing alright, but you were already gone by the time we arrived. Hope you're well and that you're safe – we're all praying for you two. From, Carol._" Jenna read aloud. "_P.S. We'll check on you again tomorrow if you still haven't returned to the group by then._"

"Good thing they didn't show up earlier – it wouldn'a been fun explainin' why we were holdin' two guys hostage." Daryl commented as he swung a leg over his bike and got settled. Jenna, who would rather look at it from a more positive aspect, was touched by the mere fact that the others had been worried enough to come all the way back and check up on her and Daryl – knowing that the others were concerned for their safety and still thinking about them made Jenna feel inexplicably comforted.

After folding up the note and shoving it into her pocket, Jenna finally moved to the driver's side door and pulled it open, but not without taking one last look around – finally, after four long, trying days, they were going to be off this God-forsaken highway. She just hoped now that Sophia was safe, wherever she was, and that she would be brave enough to hang on for just a little bit longer.

"Ready to roll out?" Daryl called, catching Jenna's attention.

Her eyes paused in their scan when they landed on the pile of supplies decorating the hood of a yellow car nearby – they were the supplies that she and Daryl had left for Sophia each time they ventured out into the woods. Jenna's gaze flickered to the windshield next, where she had written a large message in some old shoe-polish that Dale had loaned to her. '_Looking for you Sophia – stay here until we get back'_, the message read, left there for the girl to see incase she had returned while they were gone.

Jenna frowned a bit before sighing to herself and reaching into her truck, retrieving a dirty rag and Dale's shoe-polish from one of the bags in the backseat, then limped her way over to the car. Though Daryl had already started the loud, roaring engine of his motorcycle, he watched with a curious expression as she wiped the previous message from the windshield and quickly wrote another in its place. When she was finished, Jenna took a step back to admire her handiwork – the message now read, _'SOPHIA STAY HERE. WE WILL COME EVERY DAY.' _

"Now I'm ready." Jenna finally said with a nod, flashing a small, close-lipped smile in Daryl's direction as she turned and hobbled her way back to her truck.

Once the rag and shoe-polished were put away again and she was settled in the driver's seat, Jenna had to let out a sigh of relief – she and Daryl would be at the farm soon enough, where the group would be waiting and were there would (hopefully) be a hot meal and another sponge bath with her name on them. Daryl turned his motorcycle around and slowly crept towards her truck as she got situated, facing his bike in the direction they had originally come from when they first embarked down the 85 – he paused by her window, looking up at her for a moment before gazing into the distance.

"It shouldn't be too far – just stay behind me 'n I'll lead the way."

"Okay." Jenna agreed, before reaching for the keys she'd hidden in the center console and sticking them in the ignition. When she went to kick-start the engine, however, the truck merely spluttered before falling deathly silent – Jenna frowned a bit and turned the keys a few more times, but the truck only made a few disheartening clicking sounds in response. It was dead. "Well…shit." She heaved, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked with a frown.

"The truck won't start." She told him, peering down at him through the driver's side window with a grumpy expression. "The damn engine's been acting up ever since the wreck. Dale warned me this might happen, that his repairs might not hold up for long." Jenna then explained with a helpless shrug.

Daryl nodded slowly before motioning her out of the truck with a jerk of his head. "Well we ain't stayin' here – grab the necessities an' hop on with me."

Though Jenna would have normally protested and pitched a fit about having to leave her truck behind (like she had done when she first ended up in the care of Rick and his group), the fact remained that she was tired, hungry, injured, and, after everything that had happened, didn't want to spend one more minute on the highway if she didn't have to. So instead of putting up an argument she nodded in agreement, hid her keys again, and exited the truck without fuss.

While Daryl patiently waited, the hum of his engine sounding like the purr of a large jungle cat, Jenna opened the door to the backseat to first grab her bag of food and supplies, then her bag of weapons. Since Carol had already taken her clothes to the farm for washing the only other item that seemed like a necessity was her tent. After retrieving it, Jenna slammed the doors shut and turned to face Daryl. "Where do I put this stuff?" She asked, eyeing the motorcycle's storage space – or lack thereof – with skepticism.

"Here." Daryl said, using his foot to nudge out the kickstand and getting off the bike so he could help her situate her things – he fastened the tent onto the back of the bike, which was also where he had secured his crossbow, but frowned at her bags uncertainly. "You'll have'ta hold those." He told her with a shrug before easing himself onto the bike again.

Jenna nodded and fixed the two bags over her shoulders until they lay diagonal across her back – they were a little heavy, but she'd be able to manage since the drive wasn't supposed to be very long. Then, after eyeing the minimal sitting space that the motorcycle provided, she slid onto the bike behind Daryl.

At first she was hesitant to hang on to him, not sure if he – or even _she – _would be comfortable with it. But then he cast a look at her over his shoulder and said, "Better hold on."

Jenna sucked in a deep breath as he revved the engine and wrapped her arms around his waist, doing her best to ignore the tingles that erupted in her body once she was anchored to his warm back. In the next moment they were off, leaving their former campsite and Jenna's truck behind as they finally headed for the farm.

* * *

It was hard to recall the last time she had felt as relieved as she did when the mysterious farmhouse the group had taken refuge in finally came into view – the house itself was large and white and looked a bit on the old side, but the rolling fields surrounding it were picturesque and devoid of walkers and she could already see familiar vehicles parked in the front lawn. Since Daryl's motorcycle was so loud it quickly caught the attention of anyone within hearing range, and by the time they finally went riding up the dirt road that lead directly to the house, several people were already waiting to greet them with similar looks of relief – Jenna had never thought she'd be so happy to see Carol, Dale, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn again. She was even happy to see the blonde-haired Andrea, whom she barely knew and had only shared a few brief words with.

Carol was the first to step forward when Daryl cut the engine and the two of them both climbed off the bike. Though Jenna thought she seemed a little disappointed to see that Sophia wasn't with them, Carol still smiled and moved in close to pull her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're both okay." She said, squeezing her tightly.

Jenna, though surprised to be greeted so affectionately, returned Carol's hug. "It's good to see friendly faces again." She said with a small smile once she and Carol both pulled back from the hug – Glenn and Dale were patting Daryl on the back in greeting, despite the fact that he seemed a little uncomfortable with all the attention. "And it'll be good to rest. We've been goin' pretty non-stop the past few days."

Carol nodded in understanding. "Any luck?" She asked, looking between her and Daryl hopefully. "Any clues?"

Jenna shared a quick look with Daryl. "Not really." She answered honestly, shaking her head with a frown of sympathy. "I'm sorry, we – "

The older woman shook her head, making Jenna fall silent. "No, no, don't apologize." Carol insisted, though the smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes. "You did what you could." She reassured her.

"Damn…." Shane suddenly said as he stepped closer – Jenna blinked in surprise for a second, because the last time she had seen Shane he'd had a head full of curly, dark hair; at some point over the past few days, he'd decided to shave all of his hair off. Shane's eyes inspected Daryl's injuries first before turning over to Jenna, scanning over her as well. He frowned when he saw the state of her leg. "You both look like shit." He commented bluntly.

This made everyone, Carol included, look Jenna and Daryl over a little more closely – it seemed that their elation at seeing the duo alive and well again had distracted them from just how bad of shape Jenna and Daryl were actually in; now the others were looking them over with varying expressions of concern. "You guys _do_ look awful." Andrea observed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What happened out there?"

Once again, Jenna and Daryl shared a quick look. Before she had a chance to answer, though, he quickly spoke up. "Just a few little mishaps – nothin' we couldn't handle." Daryl answered evasively. Andrea didn't seem very convinced – nor did anyone else – but everyone seemed to sense that their time in the woods wasn't something that either wanted to discuss at the moment.

"Good to see _you _on your feet again." Jenna told T-Dog to change the subject – the bald black man smirked and nodded in agreement. "How's Carl doing?" She asked next, wanting to know the status of the young boy.

Glenn was the one to answer. "It didn't look good for a while there, but he's doing well now. He'll pull through." The Asian man answered with a happy smile and a nod.

Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, some _good_ news." She said with a genuine smile, happy to hear that Carl was on the mend.

"As is the news of your return." Dale added with a matter-of-fact nod, making the others nod in agreement. "We're glad'ta have you both back alive and in one piece." He announced, looking cheery now that Jenna and Daryl had rejoined the group (even _if _the two had returned looking a little worse for wear). The elderly man then moved to pull Jenna into a quick hug before patting Daryl on the shoulder. "I'll go tell Rick you're here."

But just as Dale turned to head up the porch steps, the front door to the house swung open and the familiar faces of Rick and Lori Grimes came into view; they must have been able to hear the loud engine of the motorcycle from inside the house when she and Daryl had come riding up to the road. Rick and Lori weren't alone though – five people that she didn't recognize or know the names of filed out onto the porch behind Rick and Lori, all looking to the newcomers that had just arrived with curiosity and interest.

Rick hurried over with a relieved smile on his face. "Thank God you two are alright." He said, slapping Daryl's shoulder in greeting once he was close enough to do so and smiling widely at Jenna – almost instantly his smile dropped and was replaced by a frown, though, because he'd quickly noticed how disheveled the two looked. "You guys look terrible, what happened?"

Shane answered before Daryl could. "A few mishaps apparently…" He said slowly, eyes glancing back and forth between Jenna and Daryl with obvious doubt.

Rick seemed bothered by this, but didn't press for details after he received a pointed look and a few mumbled words from Daryl. Jenna briefly wondered what Daryl had said to him – and wondered if he planned to come clean to Rick about what _really _happened, as they had discussed – but forced her attention away from the two men when Lori stepped up to hug her. "It's so good'ta see you." She said with a smile on her pretty face.

"You, too. I'm so sorry about Carl." Jenna told the dark haired woman, patting her comfortingly on the back before the two pulled away from each other. "I'm glad he's doing better though."

"Thank you." Lori said with a grateful smile. "It's been touch 'n go for a while, but Hershel thinks he'll be just fine."

The unfamiliar name had Jenna looking towards the strangers standing nearby. There was a young couple – a blonde haired girl and an equally young looking boy – standing arm in arm, another dark haired girl that appeared to be a few years younger than Jenna, a forty-something looking woman with blonde hair and, lastly, an elderly man who appeared to be in his sixties and who (Jenna assumed) was more than likely the man in charge of the farm. As a whole the group didn't seem unwelcoming or surprised with Jenna and Daryl's appearance – they must have already known the two would eventually come to the farm to reunite with their group – but that didn't stop them from eying Jenna and Daryl with quizzical, calculating expressions, as though trying to determine what kind of people they were.

"Guys, this is Hershel." Rick quickly spoke up when he saw that Hershel and his group were watching on with curiosity, moving to place a hand on the elderly man's shoulder. "This is his farm and these are his family and friends." He added, motioning to the others – the dark haired girl offered a small, obligatory smile when Jenna met her gaze for a brief moment. "This is Jenna and Daryl, the two that stayed behind to search for Sophia." Rick then reaffirmed to Hershel, who nodded with a look of recognition on his face.

"Welcome." Hershel said, nodding to them. "Stayin' on the highway ain't exactly the safest thing'ta do anymore, so I'm glad ya could make it back'ta your group alright…though I admit that it doesn't look like the journey was very kind'ta either of ya." He added, eyes taking in Daryl's injuries first, then Jenna's – the older man frowned when he saw Jenna's leg. "Need me'ta take a look at that, young lady?" He asked, nodding toward her leg.

Jenna looked down at her wounded leg and then met Hershel's gaze with a quick, guilty shrug. "Only if it isn't too much trouble…" She said slowly.

Hershel smiled a bit and then motioned for her to follow him into the house. "No trouble at all – c'mon, we'll take a look at ya inside." He paused and glanced toward Daryl. "_Both'_a ya." He added, even though Daryl hadn't asked for his assistance and didn't look overly thrilled with the prospect of getting poked or prodded at by this stranger.

"Okay." She said before glancing over at Daryl, raising her eyebrows in silent question.

"Get yourself taken care of first." He told her, motioning towards the house with a nod of his head before extending a hand in her direction. "Gimme your stuff – I'll get everythin' situated while the doc takes a look at ya."

Several people from the group looked at Daryl as though he had lobsters crawling out of his ears – clearly they hadn't thought him capable of making such friendly gestures and especially not towards _Jenna_, whom they'd only ever seen him argue with before their stay on the highway_. _She just smiled at him gratefully, though, and removed the bags hanging from her back so she could pass them over. "Thank you." She told Daryl sincerely.

Daryl nodded once, grabbed her bags, then followed Glenn and T-Dog when they offered to show him towards the camp that the group had made near Hershel's house. Jenna watched them go for a moment before starting to limp her way towards the house, smiling over at Rick when he stepped up and offered her a hand – after taking it and leaning on him for support, Jenna and Rick slowly made their way up the porch steps.

"Where's your truck?" He asked, noticing the absence of the large, black vehicle.

"Died on the highway." Jenna huffed in annoyance. "Didn't have the time or energy to mess with it though."

Rick nodded in understanding. "We'll need'ta talk 'bout everything that happened out there." He murmured to her quietly as they followed Hershel and his group into the house, changing the subject. "But we'll do it later, once you 'n Daryl've cleaned up 'n gotten some food in your bellies." He added, flashing a quick, reassuring smile at her.

"Alright." Jenna agreed, smiling politely at the dark haired girl – whom she still didn't know the name of – as she held the front door open for Jenna and Rick to pass through with ease.

"Come on in here." Hershel commanded once they were inside, motioning towards a cozy looking dining room – actually, the whole _house _looked cozy, to be honest. There were pictures and knick-knacks and tasteful decorations everywhere she looked; she was immediately hit with the same feeling she always felt whenever she'd walked into her grandparent's house, a sort of comforting feeling that came with being in a warm, inviting home.

When they passed by the open door of a bedroom, Jenna's eyes landed on a pale, unconscious Carl – she hesitated for a moment, eyeing the boy with a note of sadness, before looking over to Rick with sympathetic eyes. He just offered a small smile in return and urged her forward again.

Once they were in the dining room, Rick helped Jenna ease into a chair. He then took a step back so Hershel could kneel down in front of her and get a good look at Jenna's leg. She winced as he removed the handkerchief that Daryl had tied around her thigh to stop the flow of blood, then watched with a small grimace as Hershel leaned down and inspected the wound closer.

"Well, this doesn't look too life threatenin'." The older man then shot a questioning look up at Jenna. "How did this happen anyway?"

"I, uh, kinda fell on my own hatchet." Jenna answered vaguely, leaving out the part about her fall resulting from her struggle with Danny the bandit.

Hershel quirked an eyebrow at her. "That's unfortunate." He said, clicking his tongue for a second before offering a quick, encouraging smile. "But it's nothin' a few stitches an' some antibiotics can't fix." He continued, wincing when his old joints protested a little as he stood to his full height again. "I should have ya on the mend within the hour." Hershel predicted. "An' you'll have'ta be _careful_, but once we're all finished up here there's a hot shower upstairs with your name on it if ya want it."

Jenna's eyes went wide before she held a hand up in disbelief. "Hold on, hold on, hold on…did you just say the words '_hot'_ and '_shower'_ in the same sentence?" She asked in an awed tone, making Hershel smirk and pulling a chuckle from Rick.

Hershel nodded in confirmation. "I did." He confirmed.

"That would be _amazing_." Jenna told him earnestly – it had literally been _months _since she had last taken a _real _shower. "Thank you so much."

Hershel nodded at her with a small, polite smile. "You're welcome." He said before turning his head to call for someone by the name of Maggie – the dark-haired girl appeared in the archway of the dining room only a few moments later, a questioning expression on her pretty face. "Could ya bring me some clean towels an' my tools?" He asked of her, already rolling up the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. "Jenna here's gonna need some stitches."

"Sure thing." She said with a nod, casting a brief look in Jenna's direction before disappearing again.

"Well, you're in good hands here, so I think I'm gonna get out of Hershel's hair an' go find ya somethin'ta eat." Rick announced after that, pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning against so he could move to shake Hershel's hand. "Thank you for this, Hershel." He said, glancing pointedly at Jenna for a moment. "I really 'preciate everything ya been doin' for my people."

"Of course." The older man said with a nod.

After Rick released Hershel's hand, he patted Jenna on the shoulder. "Good'ta have ya back, Matthews." He told her with a small, sincere smile.

"Good to be back, Do-Right." She said in return.

With that Rick patted her shoulder one last time before turning to walk out of the dining room and leave Hershel to his business – only moments after Rick disappeared, the young woman named Maggie returned with a few towels tucked underneath her arm and a tray laden with gauze and various medical supplies. Maggie offered a small smile as she placed the tray on the table next to Jenna, which had the redhead smiling politely in return, before the woman turned to leave so that Hershel would have all the privacy he needed to work.

"Alright then." Hershel said, already grabbing a sharp looking scalpel – Jenna's eyes widened a little. "Hope these weren't your favorite pair'a jeans." He commented before leaning down to start cutting a long slit through the material around her injury, which granted him access to the wound but kept Jenna from having to undress and sit half-naked in front of a man she didn't know. Once the material was pushed out the way and her left thigh was completely exposed, Hershel set down the scalpel and reached for his gloves. "Ready?" He asked, picking up a bottle of antiseptic.

Jenna just gritted her teeth and nodded, knowing she was about to be in some serious discomfort. "Yep."

"Here we go, then…" Hershel said with a nod before setting to work.

* * *

**Thoughts? How do we like the way everything is panning out? **

**P.S. Thank God we finally made it to the farm!**


	12. Chapter 12

**So I'm going to try to keep the updates coming as frequently as I can, but I have to warn you that there might be a bit more lag time between chapters – this is a very distracting time of year, because not only has football season started up but all of the good fall shows are coming back, too! I'll try my best, though, promise.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 12_

Twenty-seven stitches, one large ham sandwich, and one very stern warning from Hershel to go easy on her leg later, Jenna was being ushered upstairs by Maggie – whom she had discovered was Hershel's daughter – so she could have a shower and get herself properly cleaned up. There hadn't been much time for conversation with Maggie just yet, but so far the slightly younger woman seemed friendly enough; she didn't even put up a fuss when Jenna had to lean on her shoulder for support after her recently-worked on leg made climbing the stairs a bit more of a challenge than usual.

"There's fresh towels in the cupboard under the sink." Maggie told her, leading Jenna towards the bathroom once they had reached the top landing. They both stepped inside the spacious bathroom and Jenna watched as Maggie crouched down and pulled open the cupboard doors to retrieve a few towels for her. "Here ya go." She said, handing them over – after Jenna accepted them, Maggie then grabbed a never-before-used razor. "You can have this." She said as she stood up straight again. "Just because the world's gone a little crazy doesn't mean we have'ta sacrifice our shavin' privileges, too, right?"

Jenna smiled at Maggie's light, joking tone and gladly accepted the razor. "Nope." She agreed, eyeing the plastic contraption appreciatively – as embarrassing as it would have been to admit it to anyone, it had been a long time since she'd last had the opportunity to shave her legs; it would feel nice – and _normal _– to have smooth legs again. "Thank you for everything." Jenna told Maggie sincerely. "Your family's being incredibly kind."

"You're welcome." Maggie said with a small smile. "Shampoo 'n conditioner an' soap are all on the side'a the tub. Use whatever ya need." She added, motioning towards the bathtub – Jenna nodded in understanding. "Alright then, I'll leave ya to it…" Maggie then said before turning to leave.

Jenna watched her retreating back for a moment before frowning to herself when she remembered that she didn't have anything to change into. "Maggie?" She called to make the dark-haired girl pause and turn a questioning look in her direction. "If it isn't too much trouble, could you ask Lori or Carol to bring me up a change of clothes?"

"Sure." Maggie readily agreed with a nod. "Anything else?"

Jenna wracked her brain for a moment, trying to think of anything else that needed to be done, when Daryl's face flashed through her mind. "Could you also ask Rick to make sure Daryl gets checked out by your dad?" She asked, hoping she wasn't being too demanding. "He's had a rough couple of day and needs to get looked at, but he can be pretty hard-headed sometimes – unless he's forced into it, it probably ain't gonna happen." Jenna explained with a helpless shrug of her shoulder.

Maggie nodded in understanding. "I'll pass the message along."

"Thank you." Jenna told her.

Maggie smiled a bit in response. "Enjoy your shower." The brunette said in parting before shutting the door behind her, leaving Jenna alone in the bathroom.

The shower that Jenna proceeded to take was, without a doubt, one of the longest and most gratifying showers she'd ever taken in her entire life. Before coming to the farm she had thought that hot showers were a thing of the past, so for a good forty or so minutes she did nothing but simply stand under the streaming water with an expression of complete bliss on her face, sighing in relief more than once as the almost scalding hot water slid through her hair and along her body, cleaning her skin and helping to relieve some of the aches and pains she'd acquired after her stay on the highway – it was only after she remembered that Daryl still needed to shower too and that it would be rude of her to use up all the hot water that Jenna finally started shampooing her hair and scrubbing her body more thoroughly than she ever had before, being careful to avoid her newly stitched up leg and making sure the water didn't pelt down directly onto it (as Hershel had instructed).

When she was finished, Jenna found that someone had delivered a neatly folded pile of her own clean clothes and placed them just outside the bathroom door, along with a large, white bandage for her leg. She made quick work of wrapping her leg so that her new stitches would be protected before dressing with slow, careful movements, glad to have on fresh underwear and clean clothes again. The last thing she did was run a comb through her long, damp hair before rounding up her dirty clothes and finally heading out of the bathroom to rejoin the world.

The house was relatively quiet as Jenna slowly made her way down the stairs, clinging to the banister with one hand for support and clutching her dirty clothes in the other. She glanced into the dining room as she passed, half expecting to find Daryl getting tended to by Hershel there, but the room was empty; not even the tray of medical supplies was in sight. Jenna continued on, peering into the kitchen for a quick moment – the older, blonde haired woman that she didn't know the name of yet was drinking a cup of tea and staring through the kitchen window with a faraway look in her eyes, seemingly so lost in her own thoughts that she was unaware of Jenna's presence. Not wanting to bother the woman, Jenna started for the front door. She paused, however, outside the bedroom that Carl was in when she saw that both Rick and Lori were present.

Jenna knocked a knuckle against the frame of the open doorway a few times to catch their attention. Rick and Lori both looked over before offering small, half-hearted smiles. "How is he?" She asked, limping a little further into the room and eyeing Carl with a small frown on her face – the boy was unconscious at the moment, but at least his pale body looked like it was starting to get a little more color back.

"'Bout as good as can be expected." Lori answered with a small shrug. "Been in an' out all day." The older woman then sighed and took one of Carl's hands in her own. "I'll be glad when he's on his feet again."

Jenna offered a sympathetic smile and nodded in agreement. "What happened anyway?" She asked curiously, gesturing towards Carl with a wave of her hand.

"It was just an accident." Rick answered with a heavy, resigned sigh. "Carl, Shane, an' I came across a buck in the woods while we were lookin' for Sophia. Carl started'ta go up to it'ta get a better look, but what we didn't know was that one'a Hershel's people had been trackin' it – when Otis fired his weapon the bullet went straight through the buck an' hit Carl." He explained.

"Damn…" Jenna said with a shake of her head, wondering at all of the misfortune that had hit the group over the past few days. "Thank God Hershel was able to help." She mused aloud with raised eyebrows – if the older man hadn't been there to tend to Carl, there was no doubt in her mind that the young boy would have perished by now.

"Shane an' Otis are'ta thank, too." Rick corrected, though a solemn expression passed over his features when he said this. "If it weren't for them, weren't for Otis' sacrifice, Carl would prob'ly be dead right now." When Rick saw the confusion on Jenna's face, he quickly clarified himself. "They had'ta go get medical supplies from the local high school in order for Hershel'ta work on Carl." He informed her. "And Otis…well…" Rick shared a quick look with Lori, who had been silently listening to the two talk while smoothing her hand over Carl's hair. "He didn't make it back."

Jenna made a small sound of understanding before running a hand through her damp hair. "Guess everyone's been havin' a rough couple of days, huh?" She asked with a humorless smile. And speaking of people having rough days… "Where's Daryl?" Jenna asked next. "Did Hershel take a look at him?"

Rick immediately shook his head with a disapproving expression on his face, making her frown. "He tried to, but Daryl told 'im he 'didn't need no damn doctor' an' then ran off 'fore anyone could stop him." He answered with a huff.

Jenna's frown deepened. "What do you mean 'ran off'?" She asked uncertainly.

"Andrea an' T-Dog headed out to have another look around for Sophia while there's still plenty'a daylight left." He explained – Jenna glanced towards the clock for a quick moment, surprised to see that it wasn't even two in the afternoon yet; it had been such an eventful day so far that it felt much later than it actually was. "After they left, Daryl decided he wanted'ta have a look around himself – I tried'ta convince 'im to stay an' take it easy but he wouldn't listen'ta me, just said he'd be back before dark an' left."

"_Alone_?" She asked incredulously. When Rick nodded in confirmation, Jenna heaved heavily and shook her head. "What a stubborn ass…" She grumbled, even though she knew in the back of her mind that Daryl's decision to resume looking for Sophia shouldn't have come as a surprise; he'd all but outright told her that was exactly what he planned to do while they were making their way back to the road earlier that day. Still…what was he thinking venturing out on his own after everything they'd been through the past few days?

"Sounds like someone else I know…" Rick shot at her with a quirk of her eyebrow, smirking at her in amusement when she pulled a face at him – Lori flashed a small, amused smile at hearing this. "You feelin' up to talkin' about what you an' Daryl've been up to the past few days?" He asked next, changing the subject. "I _was_ waitin' 'til you were all fixed up so I could talk'ta both'a ya together, but since there's no tellin' when he'll be back…" He trailed off, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah." Jenna agreed with a quick nod, pushing her disapproval of Daryl's decision to the back of her mind. "We can talk."

Rick nodded, got to his feet, leaned over to kiss the top of Lori's head, then motioned for Jenna to follow him outside.

Once they were on the porch they were presented with a nice view of Hershel's land, and Jenna took a quick moment to admire the scenery – everything looked very peaceful here, untouched by the madness of the outside world; it almost seemed surreal. She glanced towards the camp that the group had made only some twenty feet away from the house and saw that Glenn, Carol, Dale, and Shane were moving about the area as they carried out various chores, most looking more comfortable and more at ease than she had seen them look since joining the group. She couldn't blame them one bit; it _was_ nice to be in a safe, secure, and _normal _place for a change.

"So I'm gonna go out on a limb…" Rick prompted slowly, catching her attention and making her turn towards him. "…and say that you two have had an eventful couple'a days."

Jenna sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that's one way to put it." She told him, setting the dirty clothes that she'd been holding for the past few minutes down onto a nearby chair before crossing her arms over her chest. "I won't lie to you, Rick, we ran into some trouble while we were out there." Jenna admitted honestly.

"I figured that much." Rick said knowingly. "I know you an' Daryl don't always get along, but I doubt the beating he took came from _you_." He added, raising his eyebrows at her. Then, with a somewhat stern expression on his face, he asked, "What happened?"

Jenna, who had planned all along to tell Rick the entire truth about what had happened with the bandits, began relaying all of the events that had taken place over the past few days – she first told him about the truck and the cabin that they had inspected (Rick wasn't overly thrilled when she admitted that she'd found the truck on a solo scouting mission while the rest of the group had been looking for Sophia) and grimly informed him of the gruesome demise of the man and woman that Daryl had found behind the cabin. By the time Jenna told him about Buck and Danny and explained how the two bandits had found their camp and attacked Daryl, leaving her with no choice but to come to his rescue, Rick was looking very disconcerted – he looked even more unsettled when she relayed all the information Daryl had managed to pull from the two bandits during his interrogation, including the fact that Buck and Danny had been the men responsible for what had happened to the people at the cabin; Jenna rounded out the story by retelling the events that had taken place just that morning, from Buck and Danny's lie about seeing Sophia, to their trip into the woods, and, finally, the fight that they might have lost if it hadn't been for the fortuitous arrival of the walkers.

When Jenna was finished talking, Rick let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Jesus Christ, Jenna…" He said with furrowed eyebrows and a frown on his face – she couldn't tell if he was concerned or angry. "You're lucky'ta be alive, ya know that, right?"

"Of course I do." Jenna told him at once.

Rick didn't seem convinced though. "If those walkers hadn't showed up, you _both _would prob'ly be dead right now." He told her in a harsh hiss – now she knew for sure that he was definitely angry. "What were you two thinkin' goin' into the woods with them? Aren't _you _the one that told me it's better'ta be safe than sorry? How could you drop your guard like that?" He continued, asking the questions in rapid precession.

Though Daryl had apparently let the incident in the woods roll off his shoulders (which she would admit still confused her), Rick wasn't about to let her off the hook so easy; it was all too obvious that he was disappointed with her and Daryl's decision making.

"We were _thinking _that we might finally get a lead on the little girl we've all been _killing _ourselves to try and find, even though we knew it was a gamble." She countered, frowning at him defensively despite the fact that he was making her feel foolish, naïve, and as though she were only two inches tall. "Look Rick, nobody regrets what happened in that forest more than me – what happened back there was on _me_, not Daryl." She continued. "I made a mistake and it almost cost us our lives…but do you think I _wanted _to get strangled nearly to death? Or that I _wanted _to put Daryl's life in jeopardy? No, I didn't. I fucked up and I know that and I'm _sorry_, but I'm only _human_. I'm gonna screw up every now and again – we _all _will."

Rick stared at her for a very long moment before heaving and running a hand over his face. When he met her gaze again, he looked the slightest bit guilty for having flown off the handle. "I just…it worries me'ta hear stuff like this, Jenna." He told her – though he sounded a little calmer now, the stern expression never left his face. "You're my responsibility now, an' I don't want anything bad'ta happen to you…to _either_'a you." Rick clarified. "This group needs you _both_, an' preferably _alive_."

She was a bit taken aback by Rick's words – she'd only been travelling with her new companions for just shy of a week now; the knowledge that Rick considered her to be his 'responsibility' and that he cared that much about whether she lived or died left her speechless for a moment or two.

"Listen…" Rick continued with another sigh after she said nothing in response. "I…_understand_…why you an' Daryl did what ya did." He finally admitted, though he still didn't look happy about it. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. "You just _have_'ta be smarter about it, Jenna – next time ya might not be so lucky." He told her, his eyes pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation.

"I know." She told him with a short nod. "And trust me, I learn from my mistakes – I won't let something like that happen again, I swear it."

Rick finally seemed satisfied. "Good." He said, patting her on the shoulder once before letting his hand fall back down to his side. "Now this group those men were in," he continued, ending his lecture and getting back down to business, "did they say where they were?"

Jenna shrugged a shoulder and shook her head. "They weren't sure, but they estimated about seven or eight miles from our camp on the highway." She informed him. "They didn't say whether anyone knew about the farm or not either, but I'm assuming they don't. Otherwise I'm sure Hershel would've had a visit from them by now."

Rick nodded his understanding. "We'll have'ta keep a sharp eye out whenever we go on runs then." He said, sounding like he was talking more to himself than to Jenna and eyeing the landscape untrustingly. "An' definitely no more solo mission in the woods." He added with a disconcerted look – he was now probably fretting over the fact that Daryl was currently out there alone and with absolutely no form of back up.

"I agree." Jenna said quickly. "Daryl didn't think we should say anything to the group about what happened." She continued, pursing her lips uncertainly. "Or at least, not until we find Sophia – he thinks it'll just cause panic, especially where Carol's concerned." Jenna then shrugged a shoulder. "I'm not sure I like keeping the others in the dark, but I _do_ think he might be right about this one."

Rick considered this for a moment before sighing and placing his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I think so, too…" He said slowly, squinting his eyes as he peered in the direction of camp, watching the others move about for a moment. "I'll talk'ta Shane, let him know what's goin' on…maybe T-Dog, too." Rick mused aloud. "Other than that, I think we should keep it hush-hush for now. Everyone's worried enough as is."

"What about Hershel?" Jenna asked, knowing that if it was _her _home, _her _land, and _her _family in possible danger that she would want to know. "This place seems pretty secure now, but it might not hurt to fortify it."

Rick pursed his lips unsurely. "I dunno. I already tried'ta talk to 'im 'bout reinforcing the fences around here an' beefin' up security…he wasn't very receptive to my suggestions." He told her with a bit of a frustrated sigh. "Actually, he hasn't been very receptive to _most'a_ the things I've told 'im so far…" He admitted, making her quirk a curious eyebrow at him – what did he mean by _that_? "I'll try talkin' to 'im again, though, see if I can get through to 'im."

Before anything else could be said between the two, they both noticed that Maggie and the younger blonde-haired girl were walking across the yard and heading in their direction – Rick and Jenna shared a meaningful look, as though silently agreeing that they should drop the subject for the time being. They then smiled politely at Maggie and the blonde as they approached, noticing that the two were carrying baskets of freshly picked vegetables.

"You look like a new woman." Maggie commented as she and the blonde ascended the porch steps, joining Jenna and Rick on the porch.

"I feel like one, too." Jenna said with a small smile. "Thank you again."

"No problem." Maggie said. Then she frowned. "My dad tried'ta get a look at your boyfriend by the way, but he wasn't havin' any of it. Sorry." She told Jenna with a helpless shrug.

While Rick snorted at hearing this – apparently he found the idea of Jenna and Daryl getting mistaken for a couple very humorous – Jenna merely shook her head, trying not to blush; why did every stranger they encountered automatically assume that she and Daryl were in a relationship? "I know, Rick told me." She said in response. "And he's _not _my boyfriend." She went on to correct.

"Oh." Maggie said, looking surprised for a second. "My mistake." She added with a shrug. When Maggie saw that Jenna's eyes had shifted over to the blonde-haired girl, she gestured towards the girl with her head. "This is my little sister, Beth – Beth, this is Jenna."

"Hi." The girl said a bit shyly, offering a close-lipped smile.

"Nice to meet you." Jenna said politely. An awkward silence fell over the foursome for a beat or two before Jenna finally turned to grab her dirty clothes. "I'm gonna go see if the others need help with anything." She announced, sharing another quick look with Rick and raising her eyebrows at him for a moment – he nodded silently in response, but the look in his eyes let Jenna know that he was still thinking about their conversation. "See you later." She told him before smiling courteously at Maggie and Beth as she went past them and started in the direction of the group's camp.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon was spent situating her clothes and belongings in her tent – which Daryl, she noticed, had set up right next door to his – before helping Glenn get a decent supply of firewood assembled.

Though several people came up to ask her questions about her and Daryl's stay on the road, Jenna was careful to avoid divulging too many details, even more so when Glenn began prying – she didn't know him very well yet, but she _did_ know that he wasn't exactly the best at keeping secrets; one word about the bandits or about their near-death experience that morning and there was no doubt in her mind that the entire group would learn about it. So while they worked, Jenna kept Glenn preoccupied by talking to him about what the group had been up to in her absence – she learned that the others had also been searching the area for Sophia while Carl was on the mend and heard a particularly gross story involving a walker they'd found in one of the farm's wells the day before. When the subject of Hershel and his family eventually came up, Glenn started acting a little strangely and not-so-discreetly directed their conversation elsewhere; Jenna wasn't sure why but didn't press him for details.

As the hours dragged on and the sun slowly started to sink into the horizon, Jenna couldn't help but feel a growing sense of apprehension –T-Dog and Andrea had returned to the camp around four o'clock, looking tired and dirty and discouraged, but there were no signs of Daryl anywhere, nor had Andrea or T-Dog seen him while out looking for Sophia. By the time six o'clock rolled around, however, and the sky took on an orange and pink hue, she could no longer ignore her rising concern and found her eyes turning towards the landscape every five minutes or so, searching hopefully for any signs of Daryl; Jenna wasn't sure why she was worrying over him so much, but diligently told herself that she was only this concerned because of what had happened to them that morning, that she was merely worried for the safety of one of her companions and nothing more.

Jenna and T-Dog were in the middle of cooking dinner for the others when she glanced up and finally saw a lone figure making its way back towards the camp – for a split second she worried it might've been a walker that had wandered onto Hershel's property, but after looking harder she quickly realized that it was Daryl. Thankfully he didn't look anymore worse for wear than he had earlier that day.

With a heave and a frown, Jenna passed T-Dog the spatula she'd been holding. "I'll be right back." She told him, marching in Daryl's direction before he could question her – though she couldn't see it because her back was turned, T-Dog's eyebrows shot up before he shared a questioning-slash-suspicious look with Dale and Andrea, who were sitting nearby.

Daryl slowed his pace some when he saw that Jenna was headed in his direction. He finally came to a halt and shifted the crossbow hanging from his shoulders, his eyes narrowing in a scrutinizing way as she neared. "Glad you could join us again." Jenna said once she had stopped in front of him, arms crossed over her chest – she didn't bother trying to hide disapproving she was of his decision to venture out on his own. "Have a nice trip?" Jenna asked, unable to help the sarcasm lacing her words.

Daryl quirked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"You heard me." Jenna countered frankly, ignoring the fact that she sounded like a nag. "Wanna tell me why you thought it would be a good idea to go out there on your own after everything that's happened the past few days?" She continued, telling him with the look in her eyes how stupid she thought the decision had been.

Daryl heaved and shifted on his feet, not looking overly fond of her attitude. "Why hang around here doin' nothin' when there was still plenty'a daylight?" He shot back. "Better'ta go out an' look for Sophia than sit here with my thumb up my ass."

Jenna frowned at him, glad that they were far enough away from the others so that they couldn't hear their conversation. "And what if you'd run into trouble again?" She asked with a hint of exasperation. "Nobody would've been there to help you. You're in bad enough shape as it is and – "

"I'm _fine_." Daryl interjected impatiently, making her fall silent. "How many times I gotta say it 'fore ya'll believe it? Jesus, woman, I'm a grown ass man – I think I know my own damn limits." Jenna could tell he was starting to get irritated with the way this conversation was going, so even though she'd only confronted him out of concern, she decided to shut her mouth before they ended up getting into an argument. "Ain't you gonna ask if I found anything?" Daryl asked, raising his eyebrows at her in a condescending way.

One of Jenna's eyebrows lifted questioningly, the question immediately making her forget the lecture she'd intended for Daryl. "Did you?" She asked hopefully.

"Matter'a fact, I did." He answered with a hint of arrogance. "Checked out a house not too far from here, tucked back in the woods – found a bed in one'a the cupboards that looked like it'd been slept in by someone 'bout the size'a Sophia."

Now Jenna looked at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked, optimism quickly spreading through her like wild-fire. "That's a good lead."

"Yeah, I thought so, too." He said, nodding his head before shooting her a look. "You're welcome." Daryl added with only a hint of reproach.

Jenna just looked to him with unimpressed eyes before sighing to herself, a little exasperated by the man's ever-changing mood swings. A few seconds of silence fell between them, but when Daryl shifted again and readjusted some of the things he was holding, she realized that he was holding something in his right hand. "Is that…a flower?" She asked, eyebrows shooting up almost to her hairline in her shock; Daryl didn't exactly strike her as the flower-picking kind of guy, so she wasn't entirely sure why he held one within his grasp now.

Daryl seemed to remember what he was holding and, with a clearing of his throat, quickly moved to hide the white flower behind his back. "It's nothin'." He said evasively, appearing a little uncomfortable as he looked anywhere but at her. She almost pried a little further, curious to know why he had brought it along and what he intended to do with it, but he spoke up again before she could. "Where's Carol?" He asked, still not meeting her gaze. "I wanna tell 'er 'bout what I found."

Jenna, still eyeing Daryl with something akin to wonderment, gestured towards the RV with her head. "She was in there last I saw." She told him.

Daryl nodded and brushed past her, heading for the RV without another word. Jenna turned to watch him go for a moment or two before shaking her head to herself and turning to make her way back to the others.

"Everything alright?" T-Dog asked once she was by his side again, handing the spatula back to her when she held her hand out for it – his gaze shifted towards Daryl, who had just entered the RV, before turning back to Jenna; there was a questioning gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, fine." She said evasively before crouching down next to the frying pan resting over the fire. Jenna turned one last curious look on the RV after Daryl disappeared inside before turning her attention back to the food and telling the others what he had found.

* * *

Come nightfall the group was in considerably higher spirits.

Not only was everyone feeling more hopeful after learning of Daryl's findings that afternoon, but the fact that everyone was reunited and sleeping in the same camp again – not to mention that Carl had started showing more signs of improvement – had everyone's stress level dropping a little bit. Their conversations over dinner had been more upbeat, even filled with the occasional bouts of laughter as most people in the group kicked back and enjoyed what felt like the first normal night they'd had since leaving for Fort Benning – Jenna even had a long, friendly chat with Andrea, who had finally made an effort to get to know her. Only a few still seemed to be on their guard; namely Rick and Shane, who had a very long, serious looking conversation at one point in the evening, and Carol, who seemed a little more encouraged than she had been previously but still wasn't quite as chipper as the rest.

Later that night, after everyone else had retired for the evening, Jenna was alone in her tent and rummaging around through one of her bags. Despite having had a very busy couple of days and having not gotten very much sleep the night before, she found that she wasn't all that tired just yet – she continued searching through her bags, trying to locate a specific item that she had kept tucked away for a few weeks now, but paused when her fingers brushed over something smooth and glossy.

Jenna froze, knowing in an instant what she had just found. She contemplated just moving on and pretending that she hadn't found them, but, after a long few seconds, pressed her lips together and pulled the photographs her fingers had just encountered out of the bag.

Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes landed on the photographs – it had been a very long time since she'd looked at the pictures she'd managed to snag before evacuating her townhouse the night everything had fallen into chaos; truth be told, she normally didn't _let _herself look at those pictures. But tonight she wanted to look at them, so Jenna sat back on her heels and let out a long sigh, her heart starting to feel heavy with sadness as she finally gazed at the faces of the ones she'd lost.

One picture was of her family at Christmas time when her father had still been alive – she was a pudgy thirteen-year-old at the time, her hair curly and untamed and her cheeks still rounded with baby-fat. Next to her stood her mother, younger, happier, and flashing a mega-watt smile for the camera. Jenna's father stood on the other side of her mother, looking happy to be in the company of his family but still not quite himself – he'd found out about the cancer only months before this picture had been taken, and it was obvious that the knowledge of his sickness combined with the chemo-treatments had started taking their toll on him by this point. The last person in the picture was Sam, seventeen years old and standing taller than everyone in the family, one long arm slung around their father's shoulders as he grinned for the camera; he'd had his eyebrow pierced at the time, and seeing him with it in again pulled a short, amused laugh from Jenna – she had made fun of him for that piercing until she was blue in the face, something that had irritated him so much that eventually he had taken it out.

Jenna set the picture down and looked at the next one, a picture of her and Sam in a restaurant when they'd gone out to celebrate his graduating from boot camp – she was sixteen in this picture and Sam was twenty, and they had their arms around each other and were both making funny faces for the camera; the photo after that was one of her mother when she had been around Jenna's age, looking beautiful and vibrant and sporting a haircut very similar to the infamous Farrah Fawcett style.

The next photograph made her pause for a long moment.

This one was of her and Jon, taken on their anniversary earlier that year. It had been so long since she'd looked upon his face that she'd nearly forgotten how handsome of a man he'd truly been – in the picture he stood tall and broad, his facial features chiseled and strong looking, but her favorite feature of his had always been his eyes, which looked vividly blue against his tanned complexion and dark brown hair. Jenna took in the happy expression on his face, the warmth that still seemed to radiate off of him even through the photograph, and felt her heart ache when she remembered the way he'd looked the last time she'd seen him – sprawled on his back on the floor of a cabin in the middle of nowhere, those blue eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, completely lifeless…

Jenna dropped the picture of her and Jon – as well as the remaining photographs in her hands – to the tent floor before letting her face fall into her hands. She sucked in a few shuddering breaths to calm the torrent of emotions rising up within and then, after determinedly closing her mind to the horrible memories trying to replay her in her head, dropped her hands from her face to round up the pictures again, resolutely shoving them back into the bag. There was a good reason why she hadn't allowed herself to look at those photographs and now she remembered it very well; looking at pictures of the ones she'd lost didn't help the hurt in her heart, it only worsened it.

With the photos now shoved firmly to the bottom of her bag, Jenna resumed her search until she finally found what she'd been looking for in the first place – a bottle of Jim Beam that she had snagged from a rundown house near the Georgia state line some three weeks ago. Though not a huge fan of Jim, she'd taken it thinking it would help relieve some of the pain she was feeling after losing so many that she loved. In the end, she had rethought actually indulging in the drink after remembering the fact that danger lurked around every corner and that being alone and drunk off her ass would probably only get her killed. Fortunately for her she wasn't alone anymore, was currently in a place that was safe, and had plenty of protection should things go awry. And after everything that had happened over the past few days – not to mention the fact that she could very well be dead right now if things had gone differently that morning – well…Jenna couldn't think of a better time or reason to let loose and enjoy a drink (or three).

With the bottle of liquor in her hands, Jenna got to her feet, unzipped the flap keeping her tent closed, and stepped out into the cool night air. The camp around her was mostly quiet and the bonfire had burned down to nothing but glowing embers – the only signs of life came from Hershel's house, where lights could still be seen in the windows, the top of the RV, where Shane was sitting with a rifle in his hand as he kept watch, and, surprisingly, from right next door, where Daryl could be heard shuffling things around in his tent.

Jenna looked towards Daryl's tent, thinking an idea over for a moment or two, then started in that direction – she could already see him through the sheer mesh of his tent.

"Knock, knock." She said, patting the side of the tent to catch his attention.

Daryl looked up at her through the mesh, appearing to be a little unsure as to why she was visiting him - they hadn't spoken to each other much since their near-argument earlier that evening. "What's up?" He asked slowly, moving a bit closer so he could see her better. "You here'ta bitch at me some more?"

"_No_." Jenna answered with a huff. Then she smirked and held up the bottle of Jim for him to see – his eyebrows immediately shot up in surprise. "I came to see if you wanted to join me. I believe we both deserve a drink after our whacky days in the woods...plus I think I kinda owe you a few after nearly getting you killed." She added, keeping her voice low in case someone was listening in.

Daryl looked at her for a moment, turned his gaze over to the bottle, then shifted his eyes back up to hers. "Well, if you're gonna pull my leg…" He said slowly, but the tone of his words and the tiny smirk playing at the corner of his lips let her know that he was joking with her; clearly he was all for the idea of having a drink.

Jenna chuckled for a second then waited patiently as Daryl rounded up a couple of stray cups from one of his bags and climbed out of his tent to join her. She gestured for him to follow her towards the burned out fire then plopped down into one of the camping chairs, settling in – Daryl followed her suit, getting comfortable in the chair next to hers, then offered her a cup. "Thanks." She said, already unscrewing the cap off the bottle. After pouring a generous amount into her cup, she passed the bottle over to Daryl.

"Where'd ya get this?" Daryl asked as he poured himself a drink, keeping his voice low so they wouldn't disturb the others.

"Some house that I holed up in for the night a couple weeks back." Jenna answered with a shrug, swishing the liquor around in her cup for a second. She then turned a smirk on Daryl and raised her cup to him; Daryl clinked his own cup against hers before they both took a large gulp. "Gah." Jenna said, pulling a face as the liquor burned its way down to her belly.

Daryl, on the other hand, just smacked his lips before quirking an eyebrow at her. "Not a liquor fan?"

"Jim Beam definitely isn't my first choice." She admitted. "But beggars can't be choosers." Jenna added with a shrug before taking another drink.

For a long few minutes a comfortable silence passed between them. Though their camp had been made under a thatch of trees, when Jenna leaned her head back she could just make out the bright stars overhead and the moon peeking down through a break in the tree-tops. She watched the sky for a long moment, listening to the chirp of crickets and insects all around her, before sucking in a long breath through her nose and releasing it slowly.

"It's so peaceful here." She commented, almost sounding contented. "You'd think the world _wasn't _overrun by walking corpses." When Jenna glanced over at Daryl, he was nodding his head in agreement as he took another drink. She watched him for a moment before turning her eyes down to her cup, frowning at it for a second before finishing the contents. "I told Rick the truth about what happened." She admitted.

"I know." Daryl responded. "He talked'ta me 'bout it when I got back."

Jenna looked over at him questioningly. "What did he say?"

"Same thing 'e told you – 'gotta be more careful', 'shoulda had better judgment', blah, blah, blah…" He answered noncommittally before finishing his drink; Jenna couldn't help but smile a bit in amusement at the sarcasm present in his tone. She watched as Daryl grabbed for the bottle of Jim Beam again, shaking it at her with raised eyebrows – when she nodded, he refilled her cup first before topping off his own.

"I really am sorry about today." She said softly. "I can't stop thinking about it, can't stop blaming myself for the way things went down."

Daryl looked at her with an indifferent expression. "We're alive, ain't we?"

"Barely." Jenna shot back at him. Then she quirked an eyebrow, the question that had been circulating around in her head finally tumbling past her lips. "Why aren't you angrier about this?" She asked, blatant confusion filling her gaze.

Now Daryl was the one to quirk an eyebrow at her. "Do ya _want _me'ta be angry?" He asked doubtfully. "'Cause I can start bitchin' at ya if ya want me too…"

"Well, _no_…" She said quickly, having been on the receiving end of his anger more than once and knowing very well that it was not an enjoyable thing to bear the brunt of. "I just don't get it, I guess. I mean…we could've _died_." Jenna said, even though he didn't need reminding. "You've gotten pissed at me for a _lot _less."

"But we _didn't _die." Daryl reminded her yet again. When he saw that Jenna still wasn't convinced, he let out a heave. "Listen," he started again, "ya want the truth?" Jenna nodded. "I ain't happy 'bout the way things went down. Those assholes got the jump on us – _again_ – an' I damn near watched ya get _strangled_'ta death. But we got lucky an' we made it out." He said in a firm tone. "Ya ever stop'ta think that maybe I'm too busy feelin' relieved that we both came outta that bullshit alive'ta be mad at ya for makin' a mistake that anyone else would'a made in that position?"

Jenna blinked a couple of times, a bit stunned by his words – he was usually so guarded when it came to his thoughts and feelings that she hadn't expected him to be so open and honest with his answer. "Guess I never looked at it that way…" She mused aloud, making him nod matter-of-factly before he took another drink. Jenna toyed with the cup in her hands for a moment before sending a small smile in his direction. "You're full of surprises, you know that?"

Daryl pulled a face. "How so?" He asked skeptically.

She shrugged a shoulder. "I just…didn't think it would really matter to you if something happened to me." She admitted, being as honest as Daryl had been.

He snorted and shook his head, the look in his eyes a bit incredulous. "You can be a pain in my ass, red, but that don't mean I want ya _dead_." He shot at her before knocking back the rest of his drink.

Jenna hid her smirk by finishing off the rest of her drink as well, her muscles already starting to feel a little looser as the alcohol began to work its magic. Under normal circumstances she probably wouldn't have been such a lightweight, but seeing as she hadn't had a drink in months, didn't get as much nutrition as she should, and had probably lost at least a good twenty pounds since the apocalypse hit, the liquor was taking effect much faster than usual. She reached for the bottle off Jim to fix her third drink then offered it to Daryl, who readily held out his cup.

"Let's talk about something else." She suggested, setting the bottle back on the ground between them after refreshing his drink; Jenna decided right then and there that to move past the encounter with Buck and Danny once and for all. "How'd ya wind up with the group?" She asked Daryl conversationally.

When Jenna asked this an odd look passed over Daryl's face for the briefest of moments, but before she could try to place it or really even consider what it might mean, the look was gone. "Merle an' I just kinda stumbled across 'em." He answered vaguely, eyes trained on the glowing embers at their feet. "We'd been doin' things on our own for a while…thought we'd try the group thing, see how it worked out." He added with a shrug.

Though Jenna had the distinct feeling that he wasn't telling her the entire truth, she still nodded her head in understanding. "What happened to him?"

Daryl scoffed before taking a long drink. "Merle was being _Merle. _The dumbass started mouthin' off an' causin' trouble on a run – ended up gettin' 'imself handcuffed to a rooftop in downtown Atlanta." He started to explain. "We were goin' back for 'im the day we bumped into you, but he was gone by the time we got there. Cut off 'is own hand an' made a run for it."

Jenna cringed at this newfound information. "Cut off his own _hand_?" She asked incredulously. When Daryl nodded, she let out a low whistle. "Damn…don't think I could've done something like that."

"He's a pretty tough som'bitch." Daryl said, knocking back some more Jim. "Prob'ly still out there somewhere raisin' hell, too…"

Jenna shook her head in amazement before taking another drink, eyeing the man sitting next to her; though he was trying to appear indifferent, she could tell that the subject of his missing brother was one that definitely had an effect on him. "Were you guys close?" She inquired.

He pulled a face at that. "I dunno…I guess in a way." Daryl said, even though he sounded a little unsure of his own answer. "What about you an' your brother?" He asked after that in an obvious attempt to direct the conversation elsewhere.

Jenna chose not to comment on his dodging and nodded. "Very close." She said, almost wistfully. "We've always had each other's back…especially after our dad died." She explained. "He was the typical over-protective older brother – always looking out for me, always trying to protect me…_always _chasing away any guy that dared to look twice in my direction." Jenna laughed a bit and shook her head, a good buzz from all the alcohol starting to warm her limbs and cloud her head. "I used to get so irritated with him for being so over-bearing…I actually kinda miss it now."

Daryl watched her for a silent moment, processing that information. "Do you think he's still alive somewhere?"

Jenna frowned as she thought Daryl's question over, any previous amusement she'd felt immediately dying off – for so long she'd been holding onto the belief that Sam _was _alive, that he _was _waiting for her at Fort Benning. But the more time passed and the more difficult things became on her unpredictable journey, she had to admit that that hope was beginning to slowly diminish. Would she ever make it to Fort Benning? And even if she did, would he still be alive when she got there?

"I dunno." She answered honestly. "I like to think so, but after everything that's happened…it's hard to say." Jenna sighed and ran a hand through her hair before finishing off her third drink.

"You ever thought about givin' up?" Daryl questioned interestedly.

"_So_ many times." She admitted softly, fiddling with the empty cup in her hands. "It was easy to hang on to the hope that we'd make it to Fort Benning and find Sam when I was still with my group – we kept each other motivated, ya know?" Daryl nodded in understanding. "Once I was on my own, though…" Jenna trailed off and laughed bitterly, reaching for the bottle of Jim again. "Things got so hard. And all I could think about was how everyone else was dead and that I had no idea if I'd ever find Sam…or if I'd even live long enough to try." Having refilled her glass, Jenna took a long drink. "After a while my thoughts started to get pretty…dark. For a while there I thought about…_you know_." She admitted, the alcohol in her system breaking down some of her barriers and forcing the truth out of her before she could stop it.

Daryl's expression was hard to read when she chanced another look in his direction; the way he was watching her made her feel very vulnerable. "Opting out?" He asked in a measured tone.

Jenna gulped and then nodded. "Yeah."

"But you didn't." Daryl reminded her.

She shook her head slowly, running another hand through her hair. "No…I realized that if I ended it, that if I took my own life, then everyone that I loved would have died for nothing." Jenna told him slowly. "We could have stayed in Texas, could have found a refugee camp to settle in and survive…but I dragged everyone that I loved across the country to try to find Sam, instead. I had to keep going, if not for myself then at least for _them_ – I _owed it _to my family, to Jon, to his parents to keep going." This time Jenna finished her drink in three large gulps, wincing a bit as it burned her throat and settled in her belly. "Well..." She said in conclusion, smiling wryly. "Sorry for being such a buzz kill. I promise I didn't bring you out here to tell you all my sob stories." Jenna told him as jokingly as she could.

Daryl just smirked a bit, recognizing her attempt to try and lighten the mood. "My buzz is just fine." He said, his tone almost sounding reassuring.

Silence fell between them again after that. Daryl finished another drink, still looking at her with a pensive expression on his face, while Jenna just sighed and sunk further into her chair, eyes turning up to the sky again – she hadn't meant to unload all of that on Daryl, but now that she had Jenna did have to admit that she felt better. It wasn't often that she was able to express her fears and her doubts to another person, was able to talk through things that bothered her. Getting these things off her mind lifted some of the weight that had been pressing down on her for the past month or so; that it was _Daryl_ who had been the one to listen to her troubles was a bit surprising, but she was starting to learn that he was a much better listener than anyone had given him credit for.

"If it means anything…" Daryl suddenly spoke up, making her eyes shift back to him – he was watching her with that same, difficult-to-read expression. "I'm glad ya didn't opt out." His words made a strange feeling surge through Jenna, but before she could understand what it meant, he snorted and said, "Otherwise I'd'a been _fucked_ when them bandits showed up." He added gruffly, as though he felt vulnerable or uncomfortable for having said what he just had and was now trying to make himself seem less feeling.

Jenna, who understood exactly what he was trying to do, decided to roll with the shift in his behavior and smirked at him jokingly. "Probably in more than one way, too." She shot back at him with a raised brow, feeling more than a bit buzzed after drinking four glasses of Jim Beam. "Lord only knows how desperate those guys were for some action. And let's face it…you're a pretty man, Dixon."

Daryl immediately blanched at her words. "_Pretty_?" He asked incredulously, making her laugh at his expense. He huffed to himself moodily, looking annoyed with her for laughing at him, but after a moment or two her laughter seemed to break down his defenses and had him smirking for the briefest of seconds before he covered it up by taking another drink.

"Alright, I have to ask." Jenna finally said. "What's with the flower?"

Daryl froze mid-drink, then looked away a bit awkwardly. "It was a Cherokee Rose." He answered after swallowing the alcohol in his mouth. "There's a whole story behind 'em that reminded me'a Sophia." He went on to explain. "I wanted Carol to have it – thought it might give 'er a little hope." When Jenna remained silent for a long moment, he cast a sideways glance in her direction. "If you're thinkin' about sayin' somethin' smart…don't."

She immediately shook her head. "I wasn't gonna." She told him before smiling a bit, feeling a little impressed with his kind gesture. "That was a really nice thing to do."

Daryl just shrugged in response. "You know…" He said after a few beats of silence. "I never did thank you for savin' my ass back there." He admitted, turning a grateful look in her direction. "Thanks."

Jenna smiled and nodded her head. "You'd have done the same for me."

For a long moment, the two stared at one another. Maybe it was just the alcohol in her system that was making her notice, but the way that the orange glow from the dying embers played on his face was actually rather entrancing. His features looked more accentuated, his eyes more mysterious, and Jenna found that it was nearly impossible not to admire the way he looked just then. When Daryl finally cleared his throat and looked away the spell was broken, and Jenna blinked to herself before rubbing her forehead with the heel of her palm.

"I really can't handle my liquor anymore." She mused aloud, flashing a bashful smile in Daryl's direction. "I think I should call it a night."

Daryl nodded his agreement and, almost in unison, they both started to get up from their chairs. What Jenna didn't anticipate was the fact that drinking so much alcohol in such rapid precession would result in her being a bit on the wobbly side when she finally stood again. As soon as she got to her feet it felt like the Earth spun a little, making her stumble a few steps – Daryl quickly moved to steady her, holding her upright with a hand around her arm and another on her waist. "Easy there, red…"

There was a joke about how big of a lightweight she'd become hanging on the tip of her tongue, but when she realized that they stood only mere inches apart in the darkness of the camp, Jenna was unable to get the words past her lips. All her fuzzy mind could seem to focus on was the feel of his strong hands on her body, the smell of soap and shampoo emanating off of him in light of the shower he'd taken earlier that evening, the fact that he was standing so unbelievably close to her and wasn't making any moves to back away…

She didn't know what motivated her to do what she did next, to be honest – maybe it was because she had indeed had too much to drink, maybe it was because she was in the arms of an attractive man for the first time in a long time, or maybe it was just because there was _something_ about Daryl that she was beginning to like whether she wanted to or not. Either way, without thinking about what she was doing Jenna was leaning forward with the every intention of kissing Daryl Dixon. And to her everlasting surprise, he _wasn't_ pushing her away.

Their lips were just about to touch for the first time when the loud sound of a tent flap being unzipped and opened registered in her foggy brain, followed by a surprised, "Oh!" Daryl jumped away from her so fast that one might have thought he'd been burned. Jenna looked at him in confusion for a moment before turning to see who had interrupted their moment – it was Glenn. And at the moment, his wide, surprised eyes were darting back and forth between her and Daryl.

"I…I…" He stuttered, looking absolutely gob-smacked by what he'd just witnessed. "I was just…going to use the bathroom." Glenn took another moment to stare at them before finally turning on his heel and hurrying away, not daring to shoot another look behind him.

As Jenna watched Glenn's hasty retreat, the buzz she'd been feeling faded away and was rapidly replaced by mortification – had she _really _just tried to kiss Daryl? What the hell had she been _thinking_? It took a lot of courage, but with a cringe she finally turned to face Daryl again, hoping and praying that she could make him believe that it was just a drunken mistake and that she hadn't meant anything by it.

But when her eyes shifted back towards the man she'd almost kissed mere seconds ago, the only sight she was met with was that of his retreating back – without saying a word or even looking in her direction, Daryl stomped towards his tent with purposeful steps, his back as stiff as a board. Then he stepped back into his tent and roughly zipped it up, effectively concealing himself from her sight.

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**Thoughts?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you to anyone who has reviewed/alerted/favorited the story! I don't get a ton of feedback, but I'm assuming since I've reached 80+ followers that I must be doing **_**something **_**right. Hope you guys are still enjoying the story, because I'm having a blasty-blast writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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_Chapter 13_

Jenna woke the next morning to the sounds of conversation outside her tent and the smell of cooking breakfast. She didn't open her eyes straight away though, already cringing at the orange-red glow of the sun illuminating her closed eyelids – with a frown she threw a forearm over her eyes to shield them, sighing in relief when everything went dark again. It had been so long since she'd been drunk that she'd all but forgotten the fact that she was always plagued with hangovers the morning after, no matter how much or how little she had to drink the night before; she could already feel a minor headache forming at the base of her skull and her mouth was so dry it felt as though she hadn't drunk water in a week.

It was then, as Jenna lay there trying to motivate herself to get up for the day, that everything came rushing back to her – standing in the dark with Daryl, the way it had felt to have him hold her, leaning in to kiss him…and then Glenn was suddenly there, interrupting their moment before anything could happen and making Daryl run away so fast that she was surprised he hadn't kicked up a cloud of dirt in his retreat.

Jenna shook her head with an embarrassed groan, sure she had never felt so mortified in her entire life. Why in the _hell _had she thought it a good idea to try and kiss Daryl? They were barely even friends, let alone romantically interested in each other. Clearly that sort of attention was something that he _didn't_ want, and, furthermore, was something that even _Jenna _hadn't thought _she'd_ wanted…up until last night, anyway. God, she could only imagine what Daryl must be thinking of her right then – how was she going to face him after making such a colossal ass of herself?

"Jenna? You awake?" A voice suddenly asked from outside her tent. It was Dale. "Breakfast is ready."

"Yeah..." She reluctantly responded. "I'll be right out."

She listened to the crunch of Dale's retreating footsteps before finally letting her arm fall away from her eyes and heaving. Knowing that the time had come to slink out of her cave of shame and face whatever awaited her outside, she dragged herself to her feet and started undressing. Jenna took a moment to change the bandage around her leg and eye the large, nasty bruise that had formed on her rib cage – from being kicked by Danny – before dressing in a fresh tank-top and pair of jeans. She then pulled her long hair up into a ponytail and slipped on a pair of worn working boots, doing her best to ignore the nerves consuming her more and more with each second that brought her closer to seeing Daryl again. Finally, after putting on some deodorant and brushing her teeth, Jenna took a deep steadying breath and stepped out of her tent to join the others.

Though the hour was still relatively early, the camp was already busy with activity. She was unable to spot the tall, dark-haired Lori, nor did she see Rick or Shane, but she could see everyone else over by the small cooking fire. Carol was plating food for Glenn and Dale some ten feet away, while T-Dog and Andrea were already sitting side by side in a few of the camping chairs, devouring their breakfasts.

With a gulp, Jenna realized that Daryl was sitting a few chairs away from Andrea, also eating a rather large plate of food and looking as though he wasn't in a very good mood. For a moment she thought about chickening out and skipping breakfast altogether, just so she wouldn't have to go near him, but her growling stomach quickly nixed that idea. _Just suck it up and get it over with,_ Jenna mentally pep-talked herself. _Don't be a wimp._ So with all the bravery she could muster, she held her head a little higher and started in that direction.

"Good morning, everyone." She said as she approached, forcing on a friendly smile.

Her greeting was met by a chorus of 'good morning's from everyone but Daryl and Glenn – Daryl seemed very intent on his plate of food and didn't dare to look up at the sound of her voice, but Glenn, on the other hand, immediately shot a wide-eyed, uncomfortable look in her direction. His mouth opened and closed a few times when Jenna met his gaze before he turned and scampered off, obviously still feeling awkward in light of the past night's events. The Asian started to sit in the seat on Daryl's left, but rethought the decision when he abruptly received a sharp look from the Georgian; Glenn instead chose to just stand off to the side and eat his breakfast in silence, carefully avoiding making eye-contact with anyone.

Jenna, ignoring Glenn's eye-brow raising behavior, smiled at Carol as though nothing were wrong and accepted a plate full of food from the older woman. "Thank you." Jenna told her gratefully.

"You're welcome." Carol told her with a kind smile. "Sleep well?"

Not really, seeing as the majority of the night had been spent tossing and turning and chastising herself over and over again for being such a monumental idiot. There was no need to tell Carol that, though. "Yeah, fine." Jenna fibbed. "And yourself?"

Carol shrugged a bit and nodded her head, smile falling some. "A little better…" She told Jenna, though the bags under her eyes stated otherwise.

Jenna, forgetting about her own problems for a moment, reached out to pat the short-haired woman on the shoulder. "Hang in there." She said earnestly, hoping her optimism would brighten Carol's spirits. "I really think we're getting closer to finding her."

"I hope so." Carol said, flashing a forlorn smile before moving to start making a plate of food for herself. "Eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

Jenna nodded and then turned to find a place to sit – since every other chair was claimed, it was either sit in the open one between Daryl and Andrea or sit next to T-Dog; she chose to claim the chair on T-Dog's left, nowhere near good enough of an actress to be able to sit next to Daryl and pretend like nothing had happened between them. While she made her way toward T-Dog she could feel someone's eyes on her, but even though Jenna was fairly certain she knew exactly who was watching her now that her back was turned, she didn't dare turn to see if her suspicions was correct.

"Mind if I sit here?" Jenna asked T-Dog, gesturing towards the empty seat beside him.

"Go for it." He answered with a nod. As Jenna dropped into the seat on T-Dog's left, she chanced a look in Daryl's direction – their gazes met for the briefest of seconds before his eyes snapped back down to his plate. "You gonna join in on the search today?" T-Dog asked, blissfully unaware of the mounting tension between his two companions. "Or are ya gonna take it easy?"

"I'd much rather join the search." Jenna answered, happy for the distraction that T-Dog's conversation was providing. "There's a lot of ground to cover, and lord knows we need all the people we can out there looking for Sophia."

"Yeah, time ain't exactly on our side – the more people the better." T-Dog agreed with a nod. Then he gestured toward her leg with an inclination of his head. "How's the leg?" He asked before taking a large bite of scrambled egg.

"It's alright – I'm not gonna have to chop it or anything." She told him with a joking smile. As she took a large bite of food, T-Dog smirked in response. "What about you? How's that arm?" Jenna asked after swallowing her bite, glancing at his bandage-covered forearm.

"Good – no choppin' here either." He joked back.

"Lucky us." Jenna said with a smile.

There was a light, friendly conversation had amongst most of the group as they all ate for the next five or so minutes – Daryl, who didn't contribute to the discussion taking place around him, was the first to finish his breakfast, and without a word to anyone or a look in Jenna's direction he stood from his seat to place his dirty dish next to the fire and continue on to his tent; Jenna watched him go with a frown, but shifted her attention elsewhere when she realized Glenn had caught her staring after him. Andrea and T-Dog were the next ones to finish and immediately left to start packing up their weapons and supplies. After Dale and Carol finished eating and headed off – Dale going for the RV to fetch a bag of guns for those on the search, Carol wandering off to start hanging up laundry – Jenna looked around at all the empty chairs and found that she was now very much alone with an awkward looking Glenn.

He shifted uneasily on his feet for a second or two, but finally started in her direction after she finished her last bite. "Here…" He said with a quick gulp, striding towards her chair and reaching a hand out for her plate. "I'll take your plate – it's my turn for dishes this morning."

Jenna got to her feet and handed him the plate, noting the way his lips were pursed uncomfortably and how fidgety he was – it was official, the man had absolutely _no _poker face; did he not realize how _obvious _he was being right then? "Thanks…" She said slowly, which made him nod jerkily. Before he could turn away, though, Jenna said, "Glenn, about what you saw – "

"I didn't see _anything_." Glenn interrupted, a far-too-innocent-to-be-believable expression passing over his features. "Absolutely nothing." Jenna quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at Glenn as silence fell between them. Finally, his own curiosity seemed to get the better of him. "Seriously, though…you and _Daryl_?" He asked in an incredulous whisper, dropping his previous façade and staring at her in blatant surprise. Then he shook his head in bemusement. "I mean, I guess I shoulda seen it comin', but still…"

Jenna was momentarily caught off guard by his words - seen _what _coming? - but then she just sighed and shook her head. "There _is _no 'me and Daryl', okay? What happened was a mistake, a moment of insanity." She clarified firmly, pinning him with a stern stare. "It was nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing." Glenn shot back with raised eyebrows. "And since Daryl's been sending _death_ glares my way all morning, I'd say _he _didn't think it was nothing, either."

Though Jenna wasn't sure how to feel about Glenn's observations, she still shook her head in stubborn resolve. "Well, you're wrong." She protested defiantly. "So just…forget about it, alright?" Then Jenna looked to him with pleading eyes. "And please_, please _don't say anything to anyone – I'm mortified enough as it is."

"Okay." Glenn said, holding a hand up in surrender. "I won't say anything."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Though not completely convinced Glenn would be able to keep his mouth shut, Jenna knew she was just going to have to trust what he had said and hope that he'd be able to keep this secret to himself. With one last stern look in the Asian's direction, Jenna finally turned to leave him to his chores – she realized as she made her way back through camp that Rick and Shane had returned from Hershel's house with a large map and had rounded up those that would be going out to search for Sophia; Daryl, T-Dog, and Andrea were all gathered around Carol's Cherokee, staring at the map splayed across the hood and listening as Rick rattled of instructions, while Shane loitered nearby. Jenna immediately headed that way, claiming the spot in between Rick and Andrea once she'd reached the car.

"Sorry I'm late." She told Rick when he paused and turned his eyes over to her.

Rick frowned with concern. "You sure you're well enough'ta go out there?" He asked doubtfully, making those around her – minus Daryl – turn questioning eyes in her direction. "Shouldn't ya take it easy today?"

Jenna waved him off, careful to avoid looking at Daryl, who was standing mere feet across from her, at all costs. "I'm fine, Rick." She reassured him, shifting uncomfortably under everyone's scrutiny as they continued to eye her. "So…what's the plan?" She asked to direct the attention back to the task at hand.

Rick watched her for one more silent second before turning his eyes down to the map. "The house Daryl found yesterday is right here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map with his index finger – Jenna craned her neck a bit to get a better look at the area he was indicating. "So we're expandin' our search grids today, headin' a little further out 'case Sophia went further east than we thought."

Jenna nodded her head in understanding, but just as she did this, Shane spoke up. "I dunno." He said doubtfully to catch everyone's attention – he had dropped down into the passenger seat of the Cherokee, looking annoyed and frustrated and fidgety as he stared off into the distance. "Nothin' about this screams 'Sophia' to me…" He continued. "It could'a been _anyone _holed up in that farmhouse."

Jenna frowned at hearing this, not sure why Shane seemed to pessimistic about Daryl's findings, and she wasn't the only one – Andrea, T-Dog, and Rick all wore similar expressions of consternation on their faces in response to the man's words. "Well, anyone means Sophia, right?" Andrea asked pointedly.

"Whoever slept in the cupboard was only about yay high." Daryl offered in an even tone, his hand hovering in the air about midway between his hips and his ribs – as he spoke, he made brief eye-contact with anyone except Jenna.

"Same size'a Sophia." Rick commented optimistically, obviously not about to let his hope get trampled on – Shane let out a condescending snort that only Andrea and Jenna, who were nearest to him, seemed to have heard; the two women shared a short, uncertain look but said nothing about it. "And if it _was_ her, we might be able'ta pick up on 'er trail again."

"There's no 'maybe' about it." Daryl said resolutely, clearly already formulating a plan of some sort in his head. "I'm'a borrow me a horse, ride up to this ridge right here, get a bird's eye of the whole grid." He said, gesturing to the map and nodding approvingly at his own idea. "If she's up there, I'll spot 'er."

T-Dog, who seemed impressed, opened his mouth to say something in response to Daryl's plan, but Rick beat him to the punch. "You ain't goin' by yourself." He immediately countered in an authoritative voice, jaw set resolutely – Daryl seemed caught off guard by the stern instructions and looked back at Rick with furrowed brows. "I don't want _anyone _leavin' this camp without a partner." Rick continued, this time looking around at each person with a pointed expression so they understood the seriousness of what he was saying. "We do everything in teams, no exceptions."

"Since when?" Daryl asked with a small scowl; clearly he was in no mood to get bossed around.

"Since now." Rick countered. The two men stared at each other for one more challenging second until Rick finally shifted his attention to Jenna – the redhead stiffened as she met his gaze, fairly certain she already knew what he was about to ask of her. "You sure you're feelin' up for this today?" He questioned her again. When she nodded mutely, he mirrored the action and nodded his own head. "You're with Daryl then - ya'll've already been partners for the past few days, one more shouldn't kill ya."

Jenna's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach and her eyes flew to meet Daryl's. He gazed back at her with narrowed eyes, looking as unhappy and uncomfortable as she currently felt at the prospect of them being alone with one another for the rest of the day – given the circumstances, that was the absolute _last _thing she wanted to do. Still, she knew they'd have to move past what had happened between them at one point or another, so she met Daryl's unblinking stare for one more second before nodding her head to Rick in agreement. "Okay." Though she instantly regretted the word as soon as it was past her lips.

Rick nodded in approval but Jenna's eyes were drawn to Daryl, who clicked his tongue in what seemed like annoyance before grabbing his crossbow and storming off without another word. Everyone but Jenna watched him go in confusion before several sets of eyes turned in her direction, as though she would have an explanation for his behavior. Not wanting to admit to the others that _she _was more than likely the reason behind his mood today, she just shrugged a shoulder, trying to make it seem as though she were just as clueless.

Thankfully Dale appeared with the bag of guns in the next moment, drawing the attention of Andrea and T-Dog as he began distributing the group's weapons – per Hershel's rules nobody on the farm was to carry a firearm, so everyone had turned their weapons over to Dale, who'd been keeping them safely tucked away in his RV. Jenna started to reach into the bag to find her own weapons, which she'd reluctantly given up the previous afternoon, but paused when Rick placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention.

"Hey, everything alright with him?" He asked her quietly while Andrea and T-Dog were distracted, glancing towards Daryl's retreating back for a quick moment.

Jenna also glanced in Daryl's direction, watching as he stomped by Carol, who eyed him with perplexity, and Lori, who had just emerged from her and Rick's tent. "How should I know?" She asked evasively, turning her gaze back over to Rick.

He tilted his head to the left a little bit. "I was just askin'…" Rick said with a small shrug. "He's been pissy all mornin' – figured if anyone'd know why it'd prob'ly be you."

Jenna wasn't sure what Rick was implying – that she would know because she and Daryl had become 'friends' of a sort over the past few days or that she'd know because _she _had been the one to piss him off – but she just shrugged a shoulder, feigning ignorance. "It's _Daryl_ – isn't he always pissy?" Jenna asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

Rick pursed his lips and then nodded in agreement, clearly seeing her point. "Look, I don't want you two pushin' yourselves too hard today." He told her sternly, thankfully changing the subject. "An' if there's any sign'a trouble, you come straight back here – and I _mean _it." Rick said, pointing a finger at her. "I don't want no _repeats_, ya hear me?"

"Yep, loud and clear." Jenna said told him, holding her hands up in surrender.

Rick emphasized his point by staring her down for a few more seconds, then nodded his head in the direction Daryl had gone. "Better hurry up 'fore 'e leaves without ya."

Jenna nodded, quickly retrieved her shotgun and one of her handguns from Dale's bag, then hurried toward her tent to collect some necessities – on the way back to her tent she passed by the teenaged boy currently living on Hershel's farm, who was nervously making his way over to where Rick and the others were standing. She cast a curious look at the boy over her shoulder but didn't have time to figure out what he'd come to talk to Rick about. Instead she just faced forward again and ducked into her tent when she reached it so she could hastily make a pack and hurry after Daryl.

By the time she made it to the stables some five minutes later, Daryl was just finishing saddling one of Hershel's large horses. Jenna became acutely aware of the fact that they were about to be alone for the first time since last night and hesitated at the entrance to the stables, feeling incredibly uncomfortable and fiddling with the strap of the pack hanging off her shoulder. Finally she sucked in a steadying breath and stepped into the barn.

Daryl looked over when he heard the crunch of Jenna's feet on the hay-covered ground – her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, nervousness crashing over like a giant wave, and it was only with a great deal of courage that she managed to keep her feet moving forward. "Weird…" She said, forcing on a small, awkward smile. "I didn't think you owned a shirt that actually had _sleeves_." Jenna joked, having noticed that he'd chosen to wear a long-sleeved shirt that day.

It had been an attempt to try and break the ice, to try to ease some of the tension that was mounting between them, but judging by the blank look on Daryl's face, it hadn't worked. He said nothing in response and turned his back on her, shoving a few items into the saddle-bags hanging on either side of the horse's large body. Jenna frowned at his lack of response and gnawed at her bottom lip for a moment, not sure how to feel about the silent treatment she was receiving, nor knowing what she could say or do that would make things better between them.

Having never been one to beat around the bush, Jenna sighed and shifted on her feet, deciding to just address the giant elephant in the room and get it over with. "Look, about last night – " She started to say.

"I got more important things'ta do than standin' around chattin' with you." Daryl sharply interrupted without even turning to face her, making her immediately fall silent and press her lips together. "An' I don't need no damn _partner,_ neither." He added, practically spitting the words at her. And to prove his point, Daryl shoved one last thing into the saddlebags before hauling himself up onto the horse, getting situated in the saddle as he prepared to leave without her. He finally glanced back at her but the look on his face was guarded and impossible to read – they stared at each other for a few silent beats before he gruffly said, "I'll be back before dark."

With that Daryl dug his heels into the horse's flanks, making the large animal lurch forward. She watched, mouth slightly agape with surprise, as he trotted out of the stables without sparing another glance in her direction. "Daryl, wait." She said to try and make him stop. "Daryl!" Jenna tried again, this time taking a few steps after him.

But Daryl had already made up his mind and continued on without acknowledging her calls, leaving Jenna to simply stand in the stables and watch him go with a small frown on her face.

This was exactly what she had been worried about, that Daryl would be angry with her because of her actions the night before. And now all of those fears had just been confirmed. His behavior had not only made it glaringly obvious that he was mad at her, but also that he had no interest in hashing things out with her; if Jenna hadn't thought so before, she was fairly certain now that any semblance of friendship they'd managed to form over the past few days had effectively been destroyed.

With a sigh and shake of her head, Jenna turned on her heel to make her way back out of the stables, muttering a quiet, "Shit" to herself as she went.

* * *

With Daryl giving her the cold-shoulder and now traipsing through the woods on his own – again – Jenna resigned to the fact that she would not be joining him and made her way back to the group's camp. It had been her original plan to perhaps join one of the other teams going out to search for Sophia, but upon returning to the camp she discovered that the other search teams had already departed. So after accepting that she would just have to find some other way to make herself useful, Jenna considered her options before making her way towards Dale's RV.

The grey-haired, grey-bearded man was in the middle of searching for something in the camper when she came walking up the RV steps. "Hey." She said to catch his attention, smiling at him for a moment in greeting and leaning against one of the cabinets – Dale stopped what he was doing and looked to her in confusion.

"I thought you were headin' out with Daryl?" He asked, clearly not understanding why Jenna was still around.

The redhead pressed her lips together tightly, shaking her head. "Change of plans." She told him vaguely, trying not to let him see how bothered she really was in that moment – she didn't want to admit it out loud, but Daryl's curt, cold attitude stung a little, especially considering everything that they had been through together. "Daryl didn't want my company."

Dale came to stand in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest, looking concerned. "Anything wrong?" He asked, clearly sensing that something was off. "Need'ta talk about somethin'?"

For a moment she almost contemplated confiding in Dale – something told her he would be a good person to go to if she needed honest, unbiased advice. But after considering it a moment longer Jenna decided against it, thinking it a better idea _not _to involve the rest of the group in her and Daryl's issues. "Daryl's just being…Daryl." She said with a shrug. "You know him."

"Yeah, I do." Dale said in response, though there was still a scrutinizing look in his eyes, as though he were waiting for her to crack and start telling him what was wrong – the look finally disappeared from his gaze a few seconds later and he shrugged at her, seemingly accepting that she wasn't going to go into detail. "Prob'ly for the best in the end." He continued in a more upbeat tone. "You should be takin' it easy with that leg."

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." She conceded. Then she tilted her head as she regarded him. "Got anything planned for today?" She asked curiously.

A thoughtful look passed over Dale's face as he thought her question over, then he shook his head. "Nothin' too time consuming." He answered. "Why? Whatcha need?"

"Well…I was thinkin' about taking a quick trip to the road to see if Sophia managed to find her way back since yesterday." She explained – it was the truth, she _did _want to go check for Sophia, but, admittedly, there was an ulterior motive for this plan that she hadn't revealed yet. "Wanna drive the RV out there and check it out with me?"

Dale shifted his weight to his other leg and placed a hand on his hip, looking a little doubtful. "I wouldn't mind goin' out there," he admitted, "but I don't know how I feel about takin' the RV – don't wanna use the fuel if I don't have to, you know? This camper's a grade-A gas-guzzler."

"Well…" Jenna said with a small cringe, knowing the moment of truth was upon her. "I was _kinda_ hoping to tow my truck back, too." She revealed, pressing her lips together with a guilty expression. "And the RV's kinda the only vehicle around big enough for the job…" She then hinted with an innocent, doe-eyed look.

Dale immediately smirked and shook his head, but he seemed more amused than anything else. "So you need _me _to tow your truck back, where I then presume you'd like me to fix it for you again?" He asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer to his own question. When Jenna just shrugged and smiled at him hopefully, he sighed good-naturedly in resignation. "Okay, I'll do it…"

"Oh, thank you – thank you, thank you, thank you." Jenna immediately told him, smiling gratefully now. "I owe you, Dale."

He nodded at her in response before raising his eyebrows questioningly. "You ever think that maybe it's time to get a new car?" He asked pointedly, sounding a bit like a concerned parent. "That engine is prob'ly just gonna keep givin' you trouble. Lord know's there's plenty'a cars up for grab now…"

Jenna shrugged a shoulder at him, knowing he was right but still hating the idea of abandoning the truck that had once been Jon's pride and joy. "I know, it's just…" She trailed off and sighed. "It was my boyfriend's truck." She explained in a gentle, vulnerable-sounding voice. "It has…_sentimental value_. I can't leave it behind."

Dale seemed to understand the attachment she had to her truck and held a hand up to silence any further explanations. "Say no more – I completely understand." He told her with a warm, paternal smile. "We'll get it back here an' I'll have it up an' runnin' for you in no time."

Jenna, feeling relieved and grateful, smiled at him in thanks before turning on her heel to exit the RV. "I'm gonna see if anyone else wants to join us – be ready to roll out in ten, okay?"

The last thing she heard from Dale was, "You got it" before she stepped out of the camper and started in Lori and Carol's direction.

The two women were still working on the laundry as Jenna approached – Carol folding various articles of clothing into neat piles, Lori hanging up more shirts to dry – but they both paused to smile at her in greeting. "Morning." Lori greeted when Jenna reached her first – though there was a friendly expression on the woman's face, Jenna noticed that she looked tired and a little stressed. "I'd've thought you'd be out lookin' for Sophia." She commented. "Rick make ya stay behind so you could rest your leg?"

"He tried, but no." Jenna denied with a shake of her head. "I was supposed to head out with Daryl but there was a, uh…_slight_ change of plans." When Carol stopped what she was doing and stepped over to join her and Lori, Jenna turned her attention to her. "Dale and I are gonna drive the RV up to the highway to see if Sophia made it back." She informed the short-haired woman – Jenna then looked back and forth between the women questioningly. "Either of you wanna tag along?"

"Absolutely." Carol answered without hesitation, looking very keen on the idea. "I'll just grab a few things." And then she was off, half-walking, half-jogging in her haste to get ready for departure.

Jenna watched her go with a small smile before raising her eyebrows at Lori. "How about you?"

Lori thought it over for a moment but then shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stay here with Carl." She gently declined, offering a smile that seemed rather forced. "You know, in case he wakes up." Jenna nodded in understanding. "But you guys be careful out there, okay?" Lori added, flashing her a stern, almost motherly look. "We don't need anyone else gettin' hurt."

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out." Jenna agreed – she then glanced around the camp for any sign of Glenn but didn't see him anywhere. "You see Glenn anywhere?"

Lori moved a hand to point towards the house. "Saw 'im goin' that way." Jenna nodded and then started in that direction, but paused when Lori called after her. "Hey, you seem like you know what you're doin' when it comes'ta cookin'…" The dark-haired woman commented, making Jenna turn and face her again. "Know your way around a kitchen?"

"Yeah, I'd say so." She answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"Well, Carol an' I thought we'd treat Hershel an' his people to dinner tonight, you know, to try an' pay 'em back for everything they've been doin' for us." Lori explained. "Interested in helpin' out?"

Jenna thought it over for a second before nodding. "Sure."

Lori smiled at her, seemingly pleased that she had agreed to help. "Great." She said with a satisfied nod before turning back to the laundry. "I'll let you know when we need you, alright?"

"Sounds good." Jenna agreed. "See you later." She added before turning on her heel to leave and search for Glenn.

* * *

To the dismay of Jenna, Dale, Carol, and Glenn (who had been more than happy to come along for the ride when asked), they arrived at their abandoned camp on the highway to find that the place was completely devoid of life, human or otherwise. They all filtered out onto the road once the RV came to a halt, searching around hopefully for any signs that the old camp had been tampered with, but the place looked untouched – everything about it, from the sign on the car to the mound of supplies, looked exactly the same as the last time Jenna had seen it. In a small way it was comforting to see that nothing was amiss because that meant nobody _else _had come through either, but it would have been _far _more rewarding to have found Sophia, alive and well, just waiting for them to come collect her.

Carol, who had seemed fairly hopeful on the ride in, looked at their barren surroundings with a crestfallen look on her pretty face. Jenna couldn't stop herself from moving to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders, unable to stand seeing the dejected, utterly hopeless look on the kind woman's face. "This isn't necessarily a bad thing, Carol." She told her encouragingly. "You never know – maybe she's not _here _because she made her way closer to the farm."

Though still visibly upset, Carol forced on a smile and nodded. "Maybe…" She agreed half-heartedly. She then reached up to pat Jenna's hand. "Thank you for bein' so kind."

Jenna nodded in return. "You're welcome."

After that Dale announced to everyone that he thought it unwise to linger in the area for too long, to which Jenna, Carol, and Glenn all voiced their agreement. While the men got to work and started rigging Jenna's truck up to the back of Dale's RV, Jenna went over to the mound of supplies so she could replenish anything that starving birds had gotten after – Carol simply went to stand by the guardrail while the others busied themselves, looking as though she were fighting back tears as she gazed down at the forest below.

They were back at Hershel's farm within the hour. Since none of the search teams – nor Daryl – had returned and seeing as there wasn't much to do before she, Lori, and Carol were slated to start cooking dinner, Jenna decided to hang out with Dale and watch him as he set to repairing her truck for the second time; her knowledge of how the things under the hood of a vehicle worked was limited, and since it was a very real possibility that her truck would continue to break down like this, Jenna thought it best to try and learn a few things about car repair, just in case. Dale patiently answered her questions as he worked and tried his hardest to make her understand what he was doing and why, but in the end his attempts were futile – he might as well have been trying to teach her Chinese algebra, for all she ended up understanding.

Rick and Shane were the first search team to reappear, arriving back at camp shortly after noon, followed by Andrea, T-Dog, and – Jenna was surprised to see – the teenaged boy from earlier about an hour later. Rick definitely had a few choice words to say when he learned that Daryl had ditched Jenna and gone on the search by himself, but he did seem to appreciate the initiative she had taken to instead round up a group and check out the highway; even though knowing that nobody else had passed through the area seemed to ease some of Rick's worries a little, Jenna still had no doubt in her mind that Daryl was going to receive an ear-full from the former cop when he finally made it back to camp.

Carol decided to make a late lunch for everyone once she realized that almost the whole group – Daryl excluded – had returned to camp for the day. Jenna left Dale with her truck to go and grab food for the two of them once it was ready, noticing along the way that Shane had separated himself from the group and was sitting near his tent, silently brooding as he sharpened his knife. She frowned to herself, remembering how odd and negative he'd been that morning before the search, and was still wondering at his unexplained moodiness when she rejoined Dale.

"Here." She said, passing over one of the plates she was carrying. "Take a break, old man – you've been workin' for hours."

Dale wiped the engine grease off his hand with a questionable looking towel then accepted the plate with a grateful smile. "Thanks." He said, looking tired and sweaty but wasting no time to dig into his meal as he casually leaned against the grill of her truck. "I really don't mind the work, though – gives me somethin' to _do_."

Jenna followed his suit and leaned back against the truck, turning her head to look at Shane again – she watched curiously as he finished with his knife, shoved it into a holster hanging from his belt, then stomped off into the distance. Jenna turned her eyes away from him once he disappeared from her line of sight and looked at Dale instead. "What's up with Shane today?" She had to ask, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Dale froze mid-bite and visibly stiffened at the mention of Shane, something that did _not _go unnoticed by Jenna. "Whaddya mean?" Dale asked in a measured tone, eyes staring into hers impassively.

Jenna shrugged. "I dunno, earlier he was bein' kinda weird about going out to look for Sophia." She told the older man. "Granted, I don't really know much about the guy, but still..." She continued. "Something seems kind of..._off_."

Dale's eyebrows furrowed together as he finally lowered his fork back down to his plate. "You noticed that too, huh?" He asked – he then glanced around them for a second, as though ensuring no one was around to overhear their conversation, before taking a step closer to Jenna. "Just between us," he started, caching her full attention, "he's been actin' strange, Jenna. Hasn't seemed like he was right since he came back from that school _without _Otis." Dale told her in a hushed tone.

Jenna faced Dale more fully, her interest piqued – she remembered Rick telling her about a man by the name of Otis the previous day. "Otis was the one that died, right?" She asked just to make sure she was on the same page as Dale. He nodded in confirmation. "What happened?"

Dale glanced around again. "Well, according to _Shane_ the place was overrun when they got there – they went to get medical supplies for Carl but were gettin' swarmed by walkers left an' right." He started to explain. "Almost didn't make it out, the place was so infested."

"So how _did _they get out?"

A frown turned the corners of Dale's mouth downward. "Shane told us that Otis volunteered to stay behind, offered to lay out some cover fire so Shane could escape with the medical supplies." There was obvious suspicion on Dale's features, but Jenna wasn't entirely sure why – from what it sounded like, this Otis had done a very honorable, heroic deed by sacrificing himself so Shane could get back to the farm with the medical supplies, thus giving Carl a chance to live. But as she noted how skeptical and untrusting Dale seemed, she started to get the feeling there was something missing from this story. "But what's _odd_," Dale continued, "is the fact that when Shane returned, he was carrying _Otis'_ rifle."

It took a moment or two, but when the pieces of the puzzle came together in her head, Jenna finally realized that something about Shane's alleged recount of what happened at the high school wasn't adding up – she glanced around for any sign of the man in question, but he hadn't wandered back to the camp yet. "So why stay behind to lay out cover fire if you don't have a gun?" She mused aloud, looking to Dale uncertainly.

Dale raised his eyebrows at her knowingly. "My thoughts exactly." He said matter-of-factly.

Jenna frowned. "Has anyone else said anything about this? Or asked Shane how he got the gun?" Dale shook his head.

Something definitely didn't feel right about everything she'd just heard, but before they had a chance to discuss it more T-Dog came to join her and Dale, curiously asking what they were up to. Jenna and Dale knew without even having to say it aloud that they should shelve the topic of Shane for the time being, seeing as it would have looked _very _bad if they started throwing around accusations without really knowing what had happened – they instead told T-Dog they were just working on her truck and he immediately offered his services, clearly very bored and trying to find something to occupy his time with. While Jenna and Dale finished their lunch, he started tinkering around with the engine; the two shared a look when Shane eventually came wandering back into camp, a faraway look in his eyes, but neither dared to discuss the subject any further while T-Dog was still present.

Around five o'clock, long after any suspicions about Shane had been pushed to the back of her mind, Lori and Carol finally came to collect her so they could begin making dinner. And after a day of feeling completely and utterly useless, Jenna was damn near ecstatic to finally have something to do again – she still wasn't used to having days where she had downtime, where she _wasn't _doing something important whether that _something_ be searching for supplies, a safe place to sleep, or a little girl that had gotten lost in the woods. Not to mention the fact that the more free time she had, the more opportunities her _mind_ had to start filling with thoughts of Daryl and what had happened between them the night before, thoughts that were proving to be very bothersome; Jenna hoped that having a task to complete would take her mind off him.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Even as she, Lori and Carol started cooking dinner with the help of Maggie, Beth, and Patricia – the older, blonde haired woman that she'd finally shared introductions with – and the women struck up a casual, friendly conversation, her thoughts continued to drift back to Daryl.

Truth be told, the more she mulled over everything the more annoyed Jenna was starting to feel – she completely understood if Daryl felt uncomfortable with her advances, but the fact that he refused to talk about it, could barely even look her in the _eye_, irritated her to no end. They were grown adults, not pre-pubescent pre-teens that had gotten caught kissing by their parents and were now too humiliated to even acknowledge each other – and they hadn't even truly _kissed_, for crying out loud. Shouldn't this be something that they, as mature adults, could talk through and move on from instead of skirting around each other like scared little rabbits? _Jenna _certainly thought so…but then again, Daryl wasn't one to openly talk about anything personal, his feelings included; it would probably take an act of _God_ to get Daryl to sit down long enough to actually hear her out.

"What did that meat do'ta _you_?"

Jenna hadn't realized that she'd become lost in her musings about Daryl again until the slightly unfamiliar female voice cut through her thoughts. The redhead looked over to see Maggie standing next to her, hand grasping a large knife and poised mid-chop but eyes glancing between Jenna's face and the meat she'd just been flattening out with the help of a large mallet. Jenna shook herself for a moment to clear her thoughts before offering a quick smile and resuming her task. "Sorry, didn't realize I was hitting it so hard." She excused herself, pounding the mallet against the meat with a little less force now.

Maggie nodded and then started chopping carrots again, eyes trained on the vegetable before her. For a long few moments they worked in silence, listening to the conversation that Carol and Lori had pulled Patricia into. Eventually, though, Maggie said in a very casual tone, "So…you're friends with Glenn, right?"

Jenna set the now flattened out slab of meat to the side and reached for another to start on that one. "Yeah, I'd say so." She answered, casting a sideways look in Maggie's direction and wondering why the younger woman was asking.

Maggie nodded, reaching a hand up to re-tuck a strand of dark hair behind her ear when it fell over her face. Then she glanced over at Jenna, looking as though she were trying very hard to appear nonchalant. "What kinda guy is 'e?" She asked quietly, as though she didn't want the other women in the room overhearing the conversation. "You know…is 'e a _good _guy? Bad guy?"

Jenna's suspicions grew with Maggie's questions, but she tried not to show it. "I haven't known him for long," she admitted truthfully, "but he's been nothing but friendly to me since I found the group. So yeah, I'd say he's a good guy." Then Jenna shot a smirk in the brunette's direction. "Don't get me wrong, he puts his foot in his mouth more often than not and there isn't a suave bone in his body…but honestly? I think that's the best thing about him. There's no tricks, no tom-foolery – what you see is what you get."

Maggie seemed pleased to hear this, though she tried very hard not to show it. "I see…" Then she cracked an amused smirk. "Did you just say 'tom-foolery'?" She asked with a short laugh.

Jenna nodded and laughed with her for a moment. "I did." But then, after a few beats of silence, she couldn't help herself – she stopped what she was doing to eye Maggie with a lifted brow. "Just out of curiosity…why are you asking me about Glenn?" She pried, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes in a scrutinizing manner.

Maggie's cheeks almost immediately flushed. "No reason." She said with a hasty shake of her head, chopping the carrots with renewed vigor – Jenna was fairly certain there _was _a reason, and that she knew _exactly _what that reason was, but she decided to let the subject drop. "Alright, then." Maggie said a few moments later when she finished chopping vegetables. "I don't think we got too much longer…I'll go start settin' the table." She announced.

"Need any help?" Jenna offered, since she was almost finished with the meat by this point.

"Nah, I got it." Maggie declined. "Thanks, though." And then she was turning to hurriedly walk out of the kitchen and begin setting the table, leaving Jenna with the distinct impression that the younger girl had been looking for a reason to get out of the kitchen and avoid any more prying questions.

Once finished flattening all the meat – Maggie had graciously given them permission to use some of the meat from a cow they'd slaughtered the week before – Jenna handed it over to Lori to be cooked before moving to the sink to wash her hands. Even though she was annoyed with him and would've loved nothing more than to give him a piece of her mind – or smack him in the face, either one would work – she couldn't help taking a long look through the window, searching for any sign of Daryl on Hershel's stretching, rolling lands much like she had done the day before; in the words of Daryl Dixon himself, just because he was a pain in her ass that didn't mean she wanted him dead. There was no sign of him though, and Jenna sighed before frowning and shaking her head to herself.

"He'll be fine." A voice piped up next to her – Jenna's surprised eyes swung over to meet Carol's. "Daryl's a tough guy." Carol continued, a small, encouraging smile on her face. "He'll come back soon enough, I know it."

"What makes you think I was looking for Daryl?" Jenna countered with a passive expression on her face, trying to appear as though she had no idea what Carol was going on about even though she very much _did_ – the short-haired woman just shot a knowing look at Jenna though, which had the redhead sighing again. "I'm just…a little worried. That's all."

"I know." Carol said with a nod. "And you're _not_ the only one." She continued. "But like I said, he'll be back." Then she too took a look out the window before getting back to the large salad she was fixing.

Jenna watched Carol for a moment, wondering if she was really _that _transparent when it came to Daryl and wondering what sort of conclusions Carol was jumping to. Glenn already seemed to think something was going on between the two of them, but was _Carol _beginning to believe that, as well? Jenna was suddenly struck with a thought – what if Glenn hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut after all? What if he'd told Carol that he'd caught her and Daryl in a compromising position? And if so, how long would it be before _everyone _knew what had –

Jenna's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when movement in the yard caught her attention. She was the only one in the kitchen to have noticed, but Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn, who had all been casually lounging about the camp as they waited for dinner, had suddenly jumped into action – she watched with increasing alarm as they rounded up various weapons before all four went sprinting towards the field that lay on the other side of their camp. It was probably just a stray walker that had wandered into the area, but her stomach still flipped uneasily as she watched the men grow smaller and smaller in the distance – hopefully there was only one monster and it would be easy to take care of.

Jenna was just about to alert the others in the kitchen to the situation outside, just so nobody was caught off guard, when a loud _BANG _suddenly sounded through the air, followed by a panicked yell that could only belong to Rick. As everyone in the kitchen froze, stunned into silence by the unexpected gunshot, Jenna knew that something had just gone wrong. Why else would Rick be hollering like that? Why would he sound so alarmed if it was just a random corpse? Maybe it was because it _wasn't _a chomper, maybe it was something – or _someone_ – else…

_Daryl_.

The instant his face flashed through her mind, Jenna was turning to run out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and through the front door, not stopping to think twice about what she was doing and barely even aware of the fact that there were several pairs of pounding feet following just behind her. Once outside everyone raced toward the group's camp, where Andrea and Dale could still be seen on the RV, attempting to get a look at what was going on in the distance – Jenna was vaguely aware of Lori yelling for her husband out of concern, of Hershel demanding answers that Andrea and Dale didn't have yet, but she was far more concerned with what was happening in the field; she ran until she reached the fence, then raised a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun so she could get a better look.

Her heart sank and fear gripped her with icy fingers when she saw Rick and Shane work together to haul someone to their feet, draping the limp figure's arms around their shoulders so they could begin half-carrying, half-dragging him back towards the camp – it had to be Daryl, there were no two ways about it. And though Andrea and Dale went racing past her to investigate only seconds later, Jenna found herself rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stare with wide, horrified eyes as the others slowly made their way back towards them.

What had happened to Daryl while he was out in those woods? Had he turned and made his way back to the camp as a walking corpse? Or had Andrea mistaken him for something that he wasn't and accidentally killed him? Jenna didn't have any answers yet, but the very real possibility that he might be _dead_ suddenly made bile rise up in her throat. And, without any warning or preamble, something in her chest began to ache.

She didn't realize that everyone else – Hershel and his group included – had all filed in around her by the fence until the others drew closer, Rick and Shane still holding Daryl up between the two of them. Everyone began hurtling concerned questions at them, but Jenna couldn't seem to get any words past her lips – she could only stare at Daryl in stunned silence, noting how lifeless he looked as Rick and Shane carried him and eyeing the disconcerting amount of blood covering his face, clothes, and body. He looked for all the world like he was, indeed, dead; Jenna struggled to swallow past the lump that formed in her throat.

"Is he dead?"

"Did he get bit?"

"What happened?"

"Is he breathing?"

Rick held a hand up to bring a halt to everyone's rapidly fired questions. "He's alright, he's not bit 'r anything – he's just unconscious." He announced, making everyone immediately let out sounds of relief – Jenna released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, relief swarming her so rapidly that it was almost overwhelming. "Hershel? Can we…?"

It was very obvious that Hershel was _not _happy at the moment, but he still nodded his head stiffly and gestured towards the house. "Yes, yes, bring 'im inside." The older man instructed hastily before irritably stomping in the direction of the large, white house, leading the way.

The crowd parted to make way for Rick and Shane so the two could quickly follow after Hershel. Daryl started to stir a bit and mumbled a few incoherent words as they went brushing past Jenna, but unlike most of the group, she didn't trail after them. Instead she just watched everyone else depart before turning to lean heavily against the fence, shaking her head to herself and rubbing a hand over her face – Daryl was _alive_. Barely so, by the looks of it, but by some miracle he _wasn't _dead and he _wasn't _one of _them_.

"Close call…" A voice commented next to her.

Jenna looked up at T-Dog – he, Glenn, and Dale, were the only ones still lingering in the area, looking very relieved to know Daryl wasn't dead but also still looking a little tense and anxious in response to the chaotic couple of minutes that had just passed. Jenna straightened up and ran a hand through her hair, nodding her head and noticing the scrutinizing, questioning way T-Dog was eyeing her – he could see how visibly shaken she was by the whole ordeal, but since even _she _didn't quite understand her own reaction just now, Jenna ignored the silent question in his eyes.

"Yeah…really close." She agreed. "_Too _close…"

T-Dog nodded a few times. "Wasn't for nothin', though." He said, and it was only then that Jenna recognized the hope and optimism that had entered his gaze. She frowned at him inquiringly, then immediately went wide-eyed as he held up a grungy, worn looking object for her to see – it was a doll.

But not just any doll…

It was _Sophia's _doll.

* * *

**Kind of a filler chapter, but sometimes they're a necessary evil. And I totally wanted to integrate the whole Chupacabra part (because it was funny!), but it just didn't work. Maybe I'll try to throw it in somewhere further along in the story. **

**Anyway...thoughts?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you everyone for being so patient between updates. As much as I would **_**love **_**to update every couple of days, time just doesn't permit that. I'll try to update weekly, though, that I do promise.**

**Another thank you to anyone who had reviewed/favorited/alerted this story – you're the best.**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing.**

**P.S. I had a wee bit of writer's block on this one - if it blows, I apologize in advance.**

* * *

_Chapter 14_

The sounds of insects chirping away could be heard as Jenna sat on the porch of Hershel's home, slowly rocking back and forth in one of the white rocking chairs – sitting in the rocking chair next to her was Glenn, while on the porch steps only some ten feet away sat a guilt-ridden Andrea. At that moment Daryl was being assessed by Hershel, and they'd all been impatiently waiting for nearly ten minutes to hear news about his condition and whether or not he would _truly _be alright.

Jenna toyed with the wedding ring hanging from her neck out of habit, her eyes staring unblinkingly out into the horizon and watching as the sun slowly lowered towards the earth. Though the red-haired woman appeared perfectly calm on the outside, on the _inside_ her mind was plagued with all sorts of troubling thoughts and emotions that continued to race through her a thousand miles a minute. Though there was a very good chance that Daryl would end up being just fine, and in spite of the excitement over his finding of Sophia's doll, all she seemed to be able to think about in that moment was the way Daryl had _looked _when Rick and Shane dragged him back to the farm – covered in blood and grime, suffering from multiple wounds, dangling limply as the two men carried him along and looking like he himself were on the verge of turning into one of the chompers.

Jenna shook her head to try to clear the images from her mind, rubbing a hand over her face before closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

She didn't know why, but acknowledging how very close Daryl had come to dying that afternoon brought on feelings that she couldn't quite explain. As the cruel images of him looking so deathlike flashed across her mind again, her heart seemed to grow heavier and her stomach knotted up uncomfortably, leaving her with the feeling that she might be sick. But why did the thought of Daryl being dead or turning into a zombie affect her like this? It wasn't as though they were together – they barely knew each other and had only _just_ started becoming _friends_…well, assuming Daryl still considered her as that after her drunken moment of insanity, anyway.

So then why did seeing him like that make her feel as though someone had socked her in the gut with all their might? Why was she so troubled by it?

It certainly wasn't as though this sort of feeling was one that she was unfamiliar with – it was the same one that had consumed her each time she'd seen someone she cared about die. It had been there when Kelly was ripped apart by a hoard of zombies, it had been there when Jon shot her bitten mother out of mercy, and it had been there when she had found Jon and Bill's lifeless corpses back in that God-forsaken place in Mississippi. But _they _had been her family, her friends, her loved ones. Daryl was just…well, _Daryl_ – hot-headed, big-mouthed, squirrel-huntin' Daryl.

…wasn't he?

Jenna's thoughts then turned to the rest of the group, pondering over each individual for a long second and wondering these things: Would she have felt just as crushed if it had been Carol that had turned up covered in blood and near death? Would she have been just as shattered if they had found Dale wandering towards the house, eyes devoid of human life but fingers still grappling for any nearby person out of ravishing hunger? How about if it had been T-Dog or Glenn or Rick? Or what if the next walker that came stumbling through the area was the very girl that they had all been desperately trying to find?

Picturing all of these gruesome images in her head left her with the same sick sensation in her stomach, that same odd feeling near the region of her heart – maybe it wasn't just Daryl that she was worried about, after all. This group, though not perfect by any means, was full of good people. People that had taken her in when they could have left her for dead, people that had helped her, protected her, and shown her that not everybody in this hellish new world was to be feared – the very same people that had taught her to start _trusting _again. The thought of any of them meeting an untimely end or ill fate just seemed so completely and utterly…_wrong. _

It was in that moment that she realized it. As reluctant as she had been to join Rick Grimes and his group of survivors – in spite of how hell-bent she had been on never allowing herself to trust any other living human unless that person was her brother – somehow, somewhere along the way, Jenna had dropped the guard from around her heart and had actually started to _care _about the people that had welcomed her into their lives.

…and it scared the absolute _shit _out of her.

"Hey, Jenna?" Glenn's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. "You're a girl…right?"

The question caught her off guard for more than one reason – first, because she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts and they had sat in silence for so long that she had nearly forgotten Glenn was even there to being with. And second, it was just a fairly odd question to be asked in general. Jenna looked over at Glenn with a quirked eyebrow. "As far as _I _know, yeah…" Jenna finally answered. "At least, that's what the doctor told my parents." She added with a shrug and a small, joking smile. "Why do you ask?"

Glenn sighed and reached up to scratch his chin, looking a bit nervous. "Well..." He sighed again before shifting in his chair and turning to face her more fully, the expression on his face serious but also a little helpless. "I kinda need some…_woman advice._"

Jenna was surprised to hear this and didn't bother hiding it. "Huh…" She grunted thoughtfully. "Well, I thought I might have girl talk with someone eventually, just didn't think it'd be with a _guy_." She mused aloud, making Glenn flush a little and shrug his shoulder feebly. Jenna also turned in her seat to face him, then raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Alright, Glenn – spill. I'm all ears." She urged.

Glenn hesitated for a second, seemingly trying to think of the best way to approach the topic. "It's…it's about…Maggie." He finally admitted, making her eyebrows immediately shoot up in surprise – as it was, Maggie had _just _been asking Jenna about Glenn not twenty minutes ago…coincidence, or no? "You know, Hershel's daughter?" He went on to clarify, mistaking her surprise for confusion.

"Yeah, I know who she is." Jenna told him with a nod. "What about her?"

Glenn was silent for a long moment as he reached up to take off his baseball cap then started toying with it nervously. "Well, I just don't…_understand _her." He began to vent. "When we first came to the farm she was nice to me, then she got kinda mean, then we went on a run a few days ago and some…_stuff_…happened between us, and now she's bein' _mean _again. I don't _get_ it." He told her in an exasperated tone.

Jenna pursed her lips thoughtfully. "By '_stuff'_ you mean…?" She prompted, having a feeling she knew _exactly _what he meant but still wanting him to confirm it himself.

Glenn glanced around as though making sure no one was eavesdropping even though the only person near them was Andrea, who was too distraught over having shot Daryl to care about what they were discussing. "You know…." He finally said, waving his hand a couple of times as though that would give her all the answer she needed. "_Sex_." He then hissed.

Jenna nodded a few times in understanding. "Got it." She said with a small smirk, finding Glenn's bright blush of embarrassment rather amusing.

"Don't look at me like that." Glenn chastised, looking more and more self-conscious by the second. "It just kinda…_happened_."

Jenna held her hands up in surrender. "I'm not judging." And that was mostly because she didn't have _room _to judge – just last night she'd tried to make a move on Daryl, which was also something that had just _'kinda happened'_.

"I just..." Glenn heaved. "I dunno. I just don't know what all this means – I've _never _been good with the opposite sex." Jenna fought back a smirk at that, immediately thinking back to the first day she'd been with the group and how Glenn had made a fool of himself when he'd discovered that there was a prettier version of Jenna underneath all the dirt and grime. "Is she messin' with me or somethin'?"

"How should I know? I only met her yesterday." She reminded him, half-teasing but also half-serious.

"You're a female." Glenn pointed out, even though that was quite obvious already. "Don't you women just _know _things like this? Women's intuition and all that crap?"

Jenna did smirk at that. "I guess…" Then, after deciding to end his torture and share as much girly-wisdom with him as she could, she straightened up in her chair. "Look, Glenn, you have to realize that things are pretty complicated for _everyone _right now." She reminded him, her demeanor shifting to that of a more serious one; Glenn nodded and straightened up as well, looking to her as though she had all the answers in the world. "The world's gone crazy, everything has changed, nobody knows who to trust – and, in case you forgot, walking corpses have taken over." She listed off.

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten." Glenn told her with a hint of sarcasm.

"Then you should _also _remember how uncertain everything is nowadays. Us humans are the minority now and our numbers are dwindling – I mean, in the past week alone Sophia's gone missing, Carl got shot, T-Dog almost died of a blood infection, and now _Daryl _is laid up in bed after only Lord-knows-what happened to him out there." She continued pointedly, making him frown a little. "Now, Maggie doesn't exactly strike me as the 'hit it and quit it' kinda girl, but if it were _me_ in her shoes, well…with the way things are now I know _I'd_ be a little hesitant to get emotionally involved with someone new." Jenna then admitted. For some reason, saying this made her think of Daryl and remember how handsome he'd looked by the dying campfire pre-almost-kiss; she wasn't entirely sure why her thoughts had turned back to that, but she firmly pushed the mental image away.

"So you think she's what…scared?" Glenn asked, not sounding entirely convinced yet.

"Maybe." Jenna answered with a shrug, returning her attention back to the conversation at hand. "But like I said before, the bottom line is that things are very complicated. And the group isn't gonna be on the farm forever, Glenn, which I'm sure Maggie knows." She pointed out to him. "All thing's considered, I'd guess she's just trying to protect herself, is playing it safe."

Glenn turned his eyes away as he thought this over for a long few moments. When he looked back to her, his lips were pressed together uncertainly. "I guess I never looked at it that way." He conceded slowly. "That…makes a lot of sense." Then he shook his head with a look of defeat. "Damnit. I don't stand a chance, do I?"

"You never know." Jenna said, a secretive, knowing smile appearing on her face. "There's a chance she _might _have been asking me about you earlier…" She trailed off aloofly.

Glenn's eyes widened at once. "What?" He asked quickly, hope re-entering his gaze. "She asked you about me? When?"

"Before Daryl turned up looking like a chomper." When Glenn started to say something else, Jenna spoke up to interrupt him. "Don't worry, I put in a good word for you." She reassured her friend. Glenn smiled at hearing that then nodded his head, looking far more encouraged now. "A word of advice, though?" He nodded eagerly, ready to hear anything she had to say. "Let _her _come to _you. _She might just need a little time to sort through her own thoughts - give that to her."

"Okay." Glenn agreed. "I think I can do that." He smiled, plopped his baseball cap back on top of his head, then reached over to pat her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Jenna. I feel better now."

Jenna smiled and inclined her head to him. "Any time."

The front door swung open after that, catching the attention of Jenna and Glenn – they both looked over to see that Dale had just exited the house and stepped out onto the porch. With their conversation suddenly pushed to the back of their minds, both scrambled up from their seats and hurried over to the older man, eager to see if he had any news to share with them regarding Daryl's condition.

"Anything?" Jenna asked as they came to a halt in front of him – Andrea was now looking up at them from her perch on the steps, eyes wide with concern.

"He'll be fine." Dale answered, making all three release simultaneous sounds of relief. "He just needs to take it easy the next few days, rest up an' let those stitches heal a bit – he'll be back on his feet in no time."

"Good." Jenna said, much more at ease now that Hershel had looked Daryl over and was sure he would live to fight another day.

Dale nodded and placed a hand on his hip before glancing down at Andrea, who seemed enormously relieved to know that Daryl would be fine but was still looking very guilty. Dale shifted on his feet for a second before gesturing towards the door with his head. "Why don't ya'll go see what's goin' on in there." He suggested to Jenna and Glenn. "I'd like'ta speak to Andrea alone."

The two both looked down at Andrea before sharing a look. "Sure." Jenna said, alright placing a hand on Glenn's shoulder and pushing him towards the front door. "C'mon, Glenn."

They brushed past Dale and headed for the front door. Glenn opened the door for her and motioned for her to go inside first – Jenna did so but not without shooting one last look over her shoulder, watching briefly as Dale sat down on the steps next to Andrea.

Rick was talking to Carol and T-Dog in the living room and updating them on the situation when they walked inside. Jenna and Glenn didn't waste and time and hurried over so that they could jump in on the conversation, neither wanting to miss out on any information. "Hey, guys." Rick greeted with an upward nod of his head once they had joined the trio. "Dale tell ya'll 'bout Daryl?"

"Yeah." Jenna confirmed. "I'm glad he's alright."

"You an' me both." Rick agreed.

"What _happened_ to him?" Glenn inquired.

Rick sighed and placed a hand on his hip. "Said the horse 'e took got spooked an' threw 'im off. He went rollin' down the side of a cliff an' landed on 'is crossbow – arrow went right through 'is side." She, Glenn, Carol, and T-Dog all cringed at Rick's retelling; Jenna could only imagine how painful that had to have been and wished now that he'd allowed her to go with him so that she could have been there to help (no matter how weird things were between them at the present moment). "Yeah, wasn't pretty." Rick agreed, raising his eyebrows at them.

"He's lucky to be alive." Jenna commented, arms crossed over her chest; Glenn murmured his agreement.

"What were you sayin' about that doll, Rick?" T-Dog asked to change the subject, clearly wanting to get back to whatever they'd been discussing before Jenna and Glenn had arrived. Since this was something that everyone else had been waiting to hear more about, too, they all looked to Rick in hopeful anticipation.

"He found it washed up in the creek bed a few mile south'a that farmhouse," Rick began to explain, "which means we've not only got our first good lead, but our search grid's been cut nearly in half."

"That's good news, right?" Glenn said with an encouraged look.

"I'd say so." Jenna piped up.

"It's certainly hopeful, if nothing else." Rick added with a small, optimistic smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "With less ground to cover we'll have a better chance'a findin' 'er."

They all paused and fell silent in the next moment when Lori suddenly went stomping past with an upset expression on her pretty face. Jenna shared an unsure look with T-Dog while Rick frowned in concern, eyes trained on his wife's back as she disappeared into the room that Carl was resting in. Everyone shifted their attention towards Shane next when he came trailing after her only moments later, an equally troubled expression on his face – he paused, a blank expression overtaking his face as he stared back at them, then continued on until they heard him exit through the front door.

"We'll talk about this more in the mornin'." Rick said distractedly, clearly a little more concerned with whatever had transpired between his wife and his long-time friend. "If you'll excuse me…"

As Rick turned and walked away, Jenna, Glenn, Carol, and T-Dog watch him go in silence. "What was _that _all about?" Glenn wondered aloud. He only received shrugs in response, since they were all just as clueless.

"Well, I guess we should get back to dinner." Carol said with a sigh – since everyone in the group had taken to loitering around while they waited to hear whether their companion would truly be alright or not, Patricia, Beth, and Maggie had volunteered to take over the cooking until further notice; now that they knew Daryl was fine and just resting, it was time for them to get back to cooking dinner. "C'mon, Jenna." Carol urged.

Jenna nodded silently and followed Carol towards the kitchen. When they passed the hallway where Daryl's temporary bedroom was located, she paused and eyed the door – it was slightly ajar, and she could just barely hear the soft, yet somewhat gravelly, voice that belonged to Daryl as he said something to Hershel, who must've still been in there tending to him. For a moment Jenna contemplated going in to talk to him, to see with her own two eyes that he was indeed still a human and not on the verge of turning into one of those _things_, but couldn't seem to force her feet in that direction – she finally just shook her head to herself before trailing after Carol and heading back towards the kitchen.

* * *

To put it simply, dinner that night ended up being uneventful and incredibly awkward.

Even though Hershel and his people had welcomed them onto the farm for the time being, for the most part the two groups had been keeping their distance from each other. So that night was the first real combining of the two different groups, the first time that everyone had sat down to actually do something as simple as having a nice, home-cooked meal together – seeing as there hadn't been a ton of interaction between the two groups thus far, however, nobody seemed to know what to say to one another and dinner was mostly had in relative silence. It also did not escape Jenna's attention that Hershel's expression all evening long had been one of brooding indifference, leading her to believe that he wasn't very keen on the mixing of the two groups but was too polite to say so aloud.

At one point Glenn attempted to break the ice by mentioning a guitar that Dale had found on the road, but his efforts to spark up a conversation fell short when the subject suddenly turned to that of Patricia's fallen husband, Otis. Being reminded of the man that had died only days before effectively thwarted Glenn's attempt to get a conversation going and sent everyone right back into an awkward silence; it had required a lot of willpower, but Jenna, who had been squeezed in between T-Dog and Shane throughout the meal, somehow managed _not _to look at Shane for his reaction when Otis was mentioned.

Once dinner had been eaten, Hershel and Patricia both made hasty retreats into the recesses of the house while Maggie, Beth, and Jimmy immediately set to cleaning up – several members of the group volunteered to help them clean up the kitchen, but when their offer was politely declined, everyone instead decided it was best for them to just get out of their hair and head back for the camp. Jenna fell into step with Dale as everyone ambled out the dining room and into the hall, talking quietly amongst themselves as they headed for the front door. When they neared Daryl's temporary room, however, she paused again – Jenna wondered if he had eaten the plate of food that Carol had taken to him earlier, wondered how he was feeling, and wondered if she should just suck it up and finally go check on him herself.

While everyone else went filing out the front door, Dale hesitated when he saw that she was no longer next to him. "Jenna, you comin'?" He asked, lingering near the door and watching her with questioning eyes.

Jenna glanced back at him and then cleared her throat. "Actually, I think I'm gonna check on Daryl real quick." She said, trying to keep the nervous edge out of her tone. "I'll be along in a bit, okay?"

Dale looked at her for a long second and then nodded his head. "Okay." Then he turned, pushed through the front door, and quickly disappeared into the darkness outside.

Jenna sucked in a deep breath as she turned to face the hallway again, feeling both a little foolish and a little confused when her stomach started twisting up in nervous knots. She made her way towards Daryl's temporary bedroom with determined steps, though, refusing to chicken out this time. When she reached the door she pressed her ear to it, listening for any sounds that would indicate whether Daryl was sleeping or not – she heard nothing but silence on the other side. Thinking he was probably asleep, Jenna contemplated leaving him alone. But after thinking about it for a few more seconds she finally decided to just get it over with and have a look for herself. She sucked in another deep breath, let it out heavily through her nose, then knocked a few times to announce her presence before cautiously making her way into the room.

The instant she opened the door and took a step inside, Jenna saw that Daryl was shirtless and lying on his right side – his uninjured side – in the middle of a very large, very comfortable looking bed. As it turned out, he wasn't asleep after all – he was staring back at her over his left shoulder, the expression on his face one of curiosity at first but quickly morphing to a blank, unexpressive one when he saw that it was Jenna that had come to check on him. Ignoring the tension already starting to fill the room, Jenna eyed the bandage around his head – which looked starkly white against his tanned skin and dark hair – before turning to shut the door behind her. After that, she slowly went to stand at the foot of his bed, staring down at him with arms crossed over her chest; Daryl pulled the covers up a little higher when her eyes dropped down to his injured side.

"If you came here'ta bitch at me…don't." He instructed huffily, looking rather grumpy now.

Jenna pursed her lips in response to his attitude, trying not to feel annoyed with or offended by his shortness. "Don't worry, I didn't come here to tell you how _stupid _I think you are for going out there by yourself…or to point out the fact that I would've been there to help you if you'd brought me along like Rick _told you to_." She reassured him sarcastically, finding a way to let him know exactly how she felt on the matter without _technically_ griping at him – Daryl scowled at her and narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but she brushed his reaction off. "I just came to see how you are." Jenna finally told him with a sigh, dropping the sarcastic tone.

"Just peachy." Daryl shot at her in sarcasm. Then he raised his eyebrows at her condescendingly. "That all?" He asked shortly, making it painfully obvious that he didn't want her around.

Jenna felt her anger starting to spike – she was trying to be nice, had come in to check on him and make sure that he was okay, and he was going to act like a petulant child? The way he had been treating her that day was _really_ beginning to grate her nerves, but she sucked in a steadying breath to try reign in her temper. "No, that's not all." She countered in a steady voice. "I'm not an idiot, I _know_ you're pissed at me." His expression went blank again when she said this. "Look, if you have something to say to me, just say it."

Daryl only considered her words for a second before shrugging a shoulder indifferently. "I don't got nothin'ta say'ta you." He told her matter-of-factly, the challenging gleam now present in his eyes just _daring_ her to see what happened if she pressed the subject further.

Jenna heaved and shook her head, completely baffled by the change in him. This wasn't the Daryl that she'd gotten to know over the past few days, the one that had calmed her down from a near panic attack in the woods, had been willing to take the brunt of Buck and Danny's attack if it meant protecting her, the one that she had opened up to and told about the people she'd loved and lost – the Daryl that was in front of her _now _was more like the one she'd first met back in Atlanta, the rude, stone-hearted, short-tempered asshole that she had _hated _being around and with whom there was _no _chance for friendship.

"Call me crazy…" Jenna started slowly after a few silent seconds had ticked by. "But after everything we've been through together the past few days I thought we had, I dunno, reached an _understanding _of some sort." She admitted, trying very hard to keep the bitterness out of her tone. "That we were starting to become _friends._"

Daryl was silent for a long moment. "Well, ya thought wrong." He finally said in an unaffected tone – Jenna tried to ignore the sharp sting of rejection that hit her like a slap to the face. "I don't need no damn friends." Then he turned further onto his side so that he didn't have to look at her anymore and pulled the covers up around his shoulders, settling further into the bed.

It was obvious this was his way of telling her that their conversation was over. Jenna stared at the back of his bandage-clad head for another second before shaking her head to herself in resignation and turning to leave. She paused at the door with her hand on the knob, though, and took one last look at him over her shoulder.

"What happened last night was a mistake." She told him slowly, not sure why she still felt like she needed to explain herself when it was obvious he didn't care either way – Jenna thought she saw his shoulders and body stiffen at her words, but couldn't be sure because of the sheets covering him. "And it _won't_ be happening again – you have my word on that." When Daryl didn't say anything in response, didn't even turn to look at her or acknowledge her words, Jenna sighed before glancing towards the untouched plate of food on the nightstand. "You should eat that." She suggested before finally turning the doorknob and exiting the room, refusing to cast another look in Daryl's direction as she left.

Needless to say, Jenna was in a foul mood for the rest of the night. Upon returning to the camp she only stopped to briefly grunt out to the others that Daryl was perfectly fine when they asked about him before continuing on to her tent, where she kept to herself or the rest of the evening.

* * *

By the next morning, Jenna was still in quite a state. Not only was she annoyed beyond belief with Daryl and even a little _wounded_ by the fact that he had so easily and unceremoniously tossed their comradeship out the window, but sleep, yet again, had not come easy the previous night – even once she _had _finally managed to turn her brain off and fall asleep somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, Jenna found herself plagued by nightmares that viciously replayed the deaths of the ones she'd already lost; they were dreams that she (thankfully) hadn't had in a good few days, but now it seemed they had returned with a vengeance.

Her spirits only started to brighten after eating breakfast Carol, but they lifted even further when Lori and Rick paid a visit to Hershel's house only to, surprisingly, return with a much healthier looking Carl in tow some twenty minutes later. The group all gathered around the young boy, who had been bed-ridden for the past few days, to welcome him back and express their happiness at seeing him on his feet again – the attention made Carl flush a bit and smile bashfully, but seeing the others so uplifted by his return did seem to give him a little ego-boost.

After the excitement of Carl's return settled down some, everyone went back to their business as usual – Jenna had taken it upon herself to clean up everyone's dishes from breakfast and was in the middle of scrubbing a plate when Rick came and found her. "Hey, Jenna?" Rick said to catch her attention, weaving his way through the camp chairs so he could come speak with her – Jenna paused with her chore and straightened up as he approached. "Whatcha got goin' on today?" He asked, coming to a halt in front of her and placing his hands on his hips.

"Nothing yet." She answered with a shrug. "Figured we'd probably get the search for Sophia underway again at some point – I've just been waiting to hear the official word." She told him. "Did you have something else in mind?" Jenna then asked, tilting her head curiously.

Rick nodded his head 'yes'. "Shane an' I are gonna take the others down the road a-ways here in a bit, get a little shootin' range set up an' get everyone comfortable with usin' guns." He explained. "Wanna join us?"

Jenna, who was already fairly confident in her gun-handling abilities, contemplated his offer for a moment or two – and it was in that moment, as she was considering whether she wanted to go or not, that she glanced towards Hershel's large house and saw Daryl slowly making his way across the yard, headed in the direction of camp. She frowned as their conversation came rushing back to her, then quickly realized that he would probably be hanging around the camp all day since his injuries had very much put him out of commission – it didn't take long for her to decide that even though she could already shoot, she would _much_ rather be anywhere that _he _wasn't.

"Yeah, sure." Jenna told Rick with a firm nod. "Count me in."

"Good deal." Rick said approvingly.

A beat of silence passed before Jenna narrowed her eyes questioningly. "So…have you talked to Hershel about that other group yet?" She asked, dropping her voice so nobody else would overhear.

Rick pursed his lips and then sighed. "Tryin' to." He answered. "Like I said, he ain't the most willin' listener I ever met…I'm sure I'll get through to 'im eventually, though." After Jenna made a sound of understanding, he nodded once and then turned to leave. "I'm gonna go over the search grids with Shane – be ready'ta leave for the class within the hour." He said before wandering away.

Jenna's gaze shifted back over to Daryl after Rick was gone, watching as he slowly approached – when he glanced in her direction, though, she hastily turned her back on him and got back to the dishes.

As he made his way closer, she wondered how he would act around her. Would he maybe regret what he had said and take it back? Or was he going to remain true to what he had said and pretend like she wasn't even there? Not to her surprise, once Daryl was back within the boundaries of the camp he strode past her without uttering a single word or even acknowledging her presence. He headed directly for his tent, allowing only a few of the others to greet and fuss over him, before ducking inside for some privacy.

She did her absolute best not to fret over Daryl as she finished cleaning the dishes and then proceeded to busy herself with a few other mundane tasks that needed to be done around camp, but her attempts were in vain. Jenna kept thinking about the things he'd said to her the night before, kept remembering how coldly he'd been treating her since the almost kiss, kept wondering how his view on her could have changed so abruptly with such a silly mistake – she'd nearly gotten him _killed_ not two days ago and he had brushed it off like it was nothing, but one attempt to kiss him and he shuts down like Fort Knox? It didn't make any sense what-so-ever.

Jenna frowned to herself as she moved about camp, doing her absolute best not to go anywhere _near _Daryl's tent – why did she even _care _that Daryl wanted nothing to do with her anymore? Clearly he wasn't her friend, they had more arguments than they did conversations, and ninety-nine percent of the time he got on her absolute last nerve. To put it simply, she and Daryl were a square peg and round hole – no matter how hard they tried, they just didn't _work _together (or that's what she was trying to convince herself, anyway). So what sweat was it off _her _back that their partnership was caput?

Jenna sighed, knowing the answer to her own question already – she and Daryl had made it over some challenging hurdles back on the highway and they had done it _together_, as a _team. _He had opened up a little and shown her a side to himself that she didn't think existed, a side that she _liked_, and before Jenna had known it she'd actually started to _trust _him. Then, like that, he had unremorsefully slammed the door shut on her and put the walls up again; that he thought so little of her that he could throw her companionship away like yesterday's garbage stung and made her feel incredibly insignificant.

Jenna was finally pulled from her thoughts when she nearly collided with Glenn – she'd been on her way to her tent to grab a few things but had been so wrapped up in her own head that she didn't see Glenn until the last second. "Sorry!" Jenna apologized, balancing him with a hand on his shoulder – he had to readjust the grip he had on the fruit basket in his hands to keep from dropping it in his surprise. "Didn't see you there."

"No worries." Glenn said quickly, and it was only then that Jenna realized he looked as distracted as she currently felt.

Jenna frowned and tilted her head at him, eyebrows furrowing together when he shifted uncomfortably under her stare – she knew him well enough by now to know that there was something wrong with him. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in concern.

Glenn's eyes widened a bit and he visibly gulped. "Yeah, fine." He answered jerkily, making Jenna's eyebrows raise a little. "Why? Why do you ask?" He countered just as quickly.

If she hadn't thought something was wrong with him before, now she _definitely _knew there was something bothering Glenn. "Because you look as nervous as a teenage boy asking a girl out for the very first time." She told him matter-of-factly. "What's up, Glenn?" Then she dropped her voice. "Did something happen with Maggie?"

The Asian man shook his head quickly. "No, not at all. Nothing like that." He told her in a _very _unconvincing way. Jenna, growing even more suspicious, started to demand that he tell her what was wrong with him, but before she could he fished a peach from the basket in his hands and practically shoved it under her nose. "Peach?" He offered quickly, very obviously trying to keep from having to explain himself.

Jenna pulled her head back a bit, quirked a skeptical eyebrow at Glenn, then reached up to take the peach he was practically shaking in her face. "Thanks…" She said slowly, before turning to watch him leave when he brushed past her and scurried off – Jenna shook her head to herself when he hurried over to the small canopy he used for shelter and ducked out of sight.

"Weird dude, huh?" Jenna looked over to T-Dog when he suddenly appeared by her side, his eyes staring in the direction Glenn had just gone – he too had a half-eaten peach in his hand. "Don't get me wrong," he went on to clarify, "I like the dude just fine…but he can be pretty damn weird sometimes."

"Has he been like that all morning?" Jenna asked him – she'd been so caught up in her own issues with Daryl that she hadn't been paying much attention to what everyone else had been doing. When T-Dog nodded, she frowned and glanced towards Glenn's canopy again. "Wonder what's goin' on…"

T-Dog clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Lord only knows."

The sound of an escalating conversation behind them suddenly caught the attention of Jenna and T-Dog, and they both turned their attention away from Glenn to see what was going on – only some ten to fifteen feet away stood Lori, Rick, Shane, and Dale, all four looking as though they were in the middle of a very serious discussion. Sitting not so far away was Carl, hanging his head shamefully and hiding his face behind the bill of the sheriff hat atop head. It didn't take very long for Jenna and T-Dog to figure out that Carl had managed to get himself into trouble already.

"Kid hasn't even been on his feet for an hour and he's already in trouble?" Jenna asked rhetorically, raising her eyebrows at T-Dog – he just snorted in disbelief while she shook her head, feeling a bit amused by the whole thing.

The two shamelessly eavesdropped for a few moments, watching the argument unfold, before T-Dog shifted his attention back to her. "So I was thinkin' about havin' another look around after shootin' practice today." He said to catch her attention. "Wanna go with me?"

Jenna looked at him in slight surprise, having not expected for him to ask _her _since he normally ventured out with Andrea. "You want _me _to be your partner today?"

T-Dog nodded and gave a little shrug. "Yeah, why not?" He shot at her with a small, friendly smirk.

Jenna considered the offer for a moment. "Alright." She agreed.

T-Dog seemed happy with the fact that she'd agreed. "Aight then, it's settled." He said. Then he proceeded to slap her on the back the same way an athlete might do to encourage a fellow teammate, making her lurch forward a bit, before flashing one last smirk and then wandering away.

Once the situation with Carl had been resolved a few minutes later, Rick made an announcement for anyone participating in the shooting class to get ready to leave. As everyone started gathering up any necessities they might need and began piling into cars – she was surprised to see that not only Carl, but also Patricia, Beth, and Jimmy would be joining them – Jenna stopped by her tent to retrieve the extra ammunition she kept stored in her duffle bag. She hesitated by the opening to her tent when she saw that Daryl was looking at her through the sheer mesh of his own, but Jenna quickly turned her gaze away from his and ducked into her tent to grab what she had come for. With the ammunition in hand, Jenna then hurried away to join the caravan about to roll out without another look towards her neighbor; she could feel Daryl's eyes on her back the entire way to the Cherokee, but she absolutely refused to look back at him as she slid into the backseat of the car, which pulled away from camp as soon as she was settled.

* * *

The make-shift shooting range was only about a five or so minute drive away from Hershel's house, and once the class was underway and Jenna, along with several others, was firing bullet after bullet at the numerous cans and bottles decorating the old fence line some twenty yards in front of her, she was _very _glad that she had chosen to come along – shooting the fragile targets and watching them explode into tiny little pieces proved to be a very good stress reliever, something she was very much grateful for considering everything she'd been dealing with for the past few days. It wasn't long before Rick noticed how well she was doing and asked if she'd mind helping out those less familiar with the weaponry, namely Beth and Patricia, both of whom had never handled a gun before and were struggling a little bit. Jenna agreed and spent the rest of the time helping the two women until they could, after more than a dozen attempts, finally hit the targets.

The shooting class lasted for about an hour or so, and, once finished, everyone but Andrea and Shane – they had their own agenda for the day – reconvened at Hershel's. Jenna and T-Dog didn't linger on the farm for very long after that, only long enough for T-Dog and Rick to work out a route for the two to take, for Jenna to pack up any weapons or supplies that they would need, and for the two of them, at Dale's unyielding insistence, to have lunch before they left. Finally, after their bellies were full and after receiving very strict instructions from Rick to watch their backs and be back before dark, Jenna and T-Dog said their goodbyes and were off for yet another afternoon of scouring the woods.

They decided to venture north this time around, and for an hour they slowly and meticulously picked their way through the forest, keeping their eyes open for any signs of clues _or _trouble and keeping their voices low so as to avoid attracting too much attention – their mission was to comb as much of the land between Hershel's farm and the housing development that Shane and Andrea were checking out as they could, looking for any sign that Sophia had been through the area. Periodically they would stop to nail a bit of blue cloth to a tree, marking the search grid but also creating a guide for them to follow when it came time to make their way back to Hershel's farm (or, in the case that they didn't return, a way for the others to track them down).

As they stopped so that T-Dog could nail another piece of cloth to a large tree, Jenna turned her eyes downward, inspecting the ground underneath her feet for anything that might be significant – so far, it was impossible to make out _anything _in the dirt, leaves, and twigs making up the forest floor. Jenna pursed her lips in discouragement, remembering how easy it had been for Daryl to find clues while they were trekking through the forest together. She found herself wishing he were there so they could use that skill to their advantage and speed up the process – _then _Jenna remembered how big of an asshole he was being and immediately changed her mind, suddenly very glad that he _wasn't _present, even if he _was _the best tracker in the group (probably).

"Can I get some'a that water?" T-Dog asked, turning to rejoin her once he had finished with his task.

"Sure." Jenna answered, moving the pack on her shoulder so she could reach into it and grab a water bottle – he caught it easily when she tossed it over. Jenna pulled out one for herself after that and took a few gulps.

"Leg ain't botherin' you, is it?" T-Dog asked, gesturing towards her leg with the bottle in his hand.

Jenna shifted on her feet as though testing out the appendage before shaking her head. "Nah, its alright…for _now, _anyway" Once they'd drunk their fill and stowed the bottles away again they resumed their trek, travelling at a leisurely pace. After a few moments of silence, Jenna turned a curious look on T-Dog. "So…why'd you ask _me_ to come out here with you?" She finally had to ask, still not entirely sure she knew why he'd wanted her company. "Isn't Andrea usually your partner in crime?"

T-Dog nodded his head. "Yeah…" He answered. "But I know ya wanted to look for Sophia yesterday and didn't get to 'cause Daryl ditched you, so why not do it today, instead?" He asked with a shrug. "Plus the way _I_ see it, any woman capable of savin' _Dixon's_ ass is a lady I definitely want coverin' _mine _when shit hits the fan." He concluded, half-joking but also half-serious.

Jenna came to halt as her jaw dropped in shock – if T-Dog knew about her having to save Daryl from Buck and Danny, there was only one explanation for _how_. "Rick told you what happened to me and Daryl, huh?" She asked, not all that surprised; she'd already known that Rick had been contemplating confiding in T-Dog for security reasons, but hadn't been sure whether he _actually _had or not until that moment.

T-Dog nodded. "Yeah, told me yesterday 'fore me an' Andrea headed out, wanted us'ta know what we were up against 'case we ran into trouble."

Jenna made a sound of understanding. "So what all did he tell you then?" She asked, curious to know how much information he'd relayed to T-Dog.

"That ya'll ran into some not-so-good dudes that gave Daryl a good ass whoopin', that you had'ta swoop in an' save 'is ass, an' that there might be more'a them nearby." He listed off as they walked; it took a second longer for her to realize that the look he turned on her was one of approval. "I'll tell ya what…you got bigger balls than half the guys on that farm – that's good though, the group needs more'a that. 'Specially if any'a them fools from that other group decide to show up at the farm."

Jenna flushed with embarrassment, a little caught off guard but also flattered by his compliments. "I did what anyone else would've done in that situation." She said with a small shrug.

"Still..." T-Dog rebutted. "You risked your neck for Daryl _and _for Sophia." He then reminded her in a serious tone. "You're good in _my_ book."

Jenna, though a little overwhelmed by the fact that he was so approving of her, offered a small smile. "Thanks." She told him quietly – though happy to know that she had a friend in T-Dog, that same fear she had felt upon realizing how attached to this group she was becoming continued to linger in the back of her mind. She'd already lost people that she loved and it had ripped her heart to pieces; if anyone _else_ that she allowed herself to care about ended up getting dying too, Jenna wasn't sure she'd be strong enough to survive it a second time around.

After clearing her throat, she decided to change the subject. "You worried about that other group?"

T-Dog shrugged a shoulder. "It certainly don't sit well, but Hershel's place is pretty isolated an' seems secure." He let out a heave of resignation. "I guess we'll just have'ta cross that bridge if we come to it." Jenna nodded her agreement. "Out of curiosity…" T-Dog started again slowly. "What happened to those guys that jumped you an' Daryl?" He asked curiously. "Rick was vague on those particular details…"

"The mongrels got 'em." Jenna answered. "They tried to jump us again and the scuffle attracted walkers. They both got the chomp, but Daryl and I made it out okay." It wasn't necessarily a _lie_, but it wasn't really the _truth _either; it was all Jenna felt T-Dog needed to know, though.

"Damn." T-Dog mused aloud.

"Damn," Jenna repeated with a matter-of-fact nod.

For a long couple of minutes they continued on silence, both thinking about what they had just discussed. Finally, T-Dog shook his head as though shaking himself from his own thoughts. "So I have'ta ask…" T-He said slowly to both break the silence and change the subject. "What's goin' on with you an' Daryl?"

Jenna looked to him sharply before pressing her lips together and turning her gaze away, unable to meet his prying stare. "Whatcha mean?" She asked evasively.

"This time last week you guys couldn't be together for five minutes without bitchin' at each other, then suddenly you're campin' out together, bein' nice to one another, settin' up each other's tents…an' you damn near looked like you were gonna have a _heart attack _when he turned up lookin' like one'a them geeks yesterday." He pointed out to her bluntly. "Things seem…_different _between you guys now."

Jenna, thinking back to the previous day and remembering the way Daryl had been treating her, scoffed. "I wouldn't read into it too much." She told T-Dog truthfully. When Jenna saw T-him watching her expectantly, clearly waiting for her to explain herself, she sighed and continued. "Being out there on the highway together _did _make us push our differences to the side – we really didn't have any choice, given everything that happened." Jenna then heaved and shook her head. "Unfortunately, I think whatever semblance of _friendship_ we managed to establish has just about run it's course." She concluded. "He's made it _abundantly_ clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Why?" T-Dog asked in confusion, obviously not understanding what could have happened to make Daryl revert back to his old ways. "Did somethin' happen?"

"It's…" Jenna trailed off, unsure whether she wanted to tell T-Dog what had happened or not. "…_complicated_." She finished.

T-Dog seemed to know very well that she wasn't telling him everything, but, to her relief, he didn't push her to reveal anything she didn't want to. "Yeah, well…Daryl's a complicated guy." He agreed knowingly.

"Tell me something I _don't _know." Jenna shot back at him dryly, making him smirk a little. "One wrong move with him and he shuts you out without a second's hesitation." She found herself venting, her tone taking on a note of exasperation. "I already knew he could be pretty a pretty cut-throat guy when he wanted to be, but _damn_."

"Don't take it _too_ personally. He's been like that with _all _of us at one point or another." T-Dog told her reassuringly. "I think he had it kinda rough growin' up, so he doesn't trust easy." He then snorted to himself, a dark look passing over his features. "An' with a brother like _Merle _hangin' around, I'm sure that just made everything all rainbows and sunshine." He commented, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jenna cocked a curious eyebrow at him. She'd heard Merle mentioned here or there, but no one – not even Daryl – had really gone into too much detail about him. "Not a fan of him, huh?" She asked.

"Hell no." T-Dog immediately answered. "Merle was an ignorant, racist, dumbass redneck out to do nothin' but stir up shit in the group – as far as I'm concerned, we're all much better off without 'im…Daryl included."

Jenna nodded her understanding, then took a moment to consider everything T-Dog had just told her – she wondered if this supposed 'rough upbringing' was the reason Daryl had shut her out. Suddenly Jenna recalled the way he had flinched any time she had ever attempted to touch him, remembered how he would recoil anytime she – or anyone else – made a fuss over him. Maybe being coddled and being shown affection wasn't something he was used to _or _comfortable with; perhaps by trying to kiss him, she had crossed some sort of line that she hadn't even known had been drawn.

A beat of silence passed between them before T-Dog spoke up again. "Anyway…I'm sure whatever happened with Daryl will blow over." He said, getting back to their conversation. "Who knows? Maybe he's just bein' a dick 'cause he likes you but doesn't know what'ta do about it."

Jenna outright laughed at that, making T-Dog's eyebrows shoot up. "Riiiight..." She said with a sarcastic, unconvinced tone. "And _I'm _the queen of England."

"Hey, you never know…" T-Dog shot back.

Jenna just shook her head, fairly certain that T-Dog couldn't possibly be any _further _from the truth. "Even if that was the case – which it _isn't_ – getting involved with someone is the _last _thing I need." She told him firmly. "My only concerns right now are finding Sophia alive and getting to Fort Benning, _not_ trying to find a guy to cozy up to at night, thank you very much."

T-Dog just clicked his tongue, the expression on his face one of uncertainty. "If you say so…" He replied, sounding unconvinced – Jenna just shot him a look. "But if I were you, I wouldn't bank on gettin'ta Fort Benning any time soon." He continued, immediately making her eyebrows furrow together. When he saw her confusion, he explained himself. "Rick's been talkin'ta Hershel, tryin'ta get 'im to extend our invitation…_permanently_." He revealed. "Didn't you know?"

Jenna suddenly felt as though she'd been hit by a ton of bricks. "No, I didn't." She said with a shake of her head, having been unaware of the change in plans until that moment. "We're not headed for Fort Benning anymore?" She asked him incredulously.

T-Dog shrugged. "Well, I mean…nothin's set in stone _yet_." He conceded. "But if Rick has his way we'll be joinin' forces with Hershel an' his people." He went on to say. "Let's face it, it makes a _helluva _lot more sense'ta stay here – we got food, shelter, a _doctor_…an' who's'ta say Fort Benning's even still up an' runnin' anymore?" T-Dog added. "Personally, I'd rather stay put than take my chances on the road – an' I think I speak for just about everyone when I say that."

Jenna didn't like the sound of this at _all_. She would admit that T-Dog had made some valid points, but, unlike the rest of the group, _her_ desire to go to Fort Benning wasn't just derived from a need to find safety and shelter. Sam, the only family she had left, could still be alive and still be waiting for her there – no matter how dangerous or uncertain the road to the military base might be, Jenna's plan had always – and _would _always – be to find her brother. She had, after all, promised her mother that she would do everything she could to find him.

…but at the same time, she _liked _this new group that she had been travelling with. Finding a good group of people to watch her back had a been a miracle; they were people that she trusted and people that she was starting to become friends with – if the group ended up staying on the farm, Jenna knew she was going to find herself faced with a very serious dilemma.

The effect this news was having on her must have been showing on her face, because T-Dog paused for a moment and looked over at her with furrowed brows. "You okay?" He asked uncertainly.

Jenna snapped out of it and nodded her head, forcing on a smile. "Yeah…fine." She lied.

T-Dog eyed her for another moment before slowly nodding his head and then gesturing her forward. "Let's keep goin' then." He suggested slowly, not looking entirely convinced but not prying any further, either. "We still got a lotta ground to cover."

And so they continued on, but the only thing Jenna could think about for the rest of their search was this new possible problem looming on the horizon. She had no idea what lied ahead in the future now, but now there was a very real possibility that she would soon find herself stuck at a crossroads and faced with a very difficult decision – if the group chose to stay on the farm instead of continuing to Fort Benning, should she stick true to her promise and continue to search for her brother, even if that meant doing it alone? Or should she just stay and start anew with the people that had welcomed her in with open arms, had protected and looked out for her, and whom she was starting to genuinely care for?

Jenna had absolutely no idea what the right choice would be, but one thing was for sure – she needed to have a _very _serious conversation with Rick as soon as she and T-Dog returned to camp.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	15. Chapter 15

**You's guys! Over a hundred followers? I'm so thrilled! We've reached a milestone here! Thank you so much to all of you for your support and I hope you're enjoying where this story is going – I still have **_**so**_** much more planned for Jenna and Co., so I hope you guys are in it for the long haul! This is only the beginning!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 15_

After drifting in and out of sleep all day long – with several failed attempts to read the boring ass book that Andrea had loaned him in between naps – Daryl couldn't stand to be cooped up in the polyester walls of his tent for even a second longer. With a heave he slowly began sitting up on his cot, cringing when the move irritated his still-tender side, but he gritted his teeth and pushed past the pain until he'd finally swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat upright. Then, with another pained wince, he leaned over to reach for his socks and boots before slowly pulling them on.

Once that task was done, Daryl sucked in a steadying breath through his nose and took a moment to recover as the stitched-up wound on his left side throbbed angrily in protest – after a few seconds, he finally, carefully, got to his feet, pausing for a moment to make sure he had his bearings after lying down for so long, then slowly made his way out of his tent.

He wasn't really sure what time it was, but judging by how high the sun was he guessed it was somewhere around three. He took another quick look around the camp, watching as the others went about their day as usual – from what he could see, it seemed as though just about everyone that had gone to the shooting class had long since returned by now and were making themselves busy around camp. Rick and Carl were sharpening knives over by the fire, Dale had taken to working on that big, pain in the ass truck that belonged to Jenna, and Carol was (as always) doing laundry to keep herself preoccupied. He could also see Glenn sitting under his canopy looking like he was struggling with some _serious _internal issues – Daryl had heard a bit of commotion not that long ago between Glenn, the farm girl and Lori, but hadn't cared enough to try to find out what was going on – while Lori could be seen sitting in her own tent some ten feet away.

It was only when he _didn't _spot a tell-tale mane of red hair that Daryl even realized he'd been looking for it in the first place. The tiniest of frowns worked its way onto his face when he realized that he couldn't see Jenna anywhere before his eyes flickered over to the green tent next door to his – empty. One last look around confirmed to Daryl that Jenna was not currently within the camp boundaries, but when he realized that there were several others missing as well – namely Andrea, T-Dog, and Shane – he could only assume that she'd left to go searching for Carol's little girl sometime while he'd been sleeping.

Daryl told himself that her being somewhere out in a dangerous forest without him there to watch her back _didn't _bother him, not even in the slightest.

"Hey, Daryl!"

He turned at the sound of Dale's voice and saw the older man waving him over. For a moment Daryl seriously contemplated brushing him off – Dale was a wise, good-intentioned old man but he was also nosy and opinionated, which got on Daryl's last nerve more often than not. Finally he decided to just suck it up and meander his way toward the truck to see what Dale wanted – he told himself that his decision was _not _influenced by the fact that Dale would more than likely be able to tell him where Jenna had gone to.

"You still workin' on this piece'a junk?" Daryl gruffly asked as he approached.

Dale set down the tools he'd been holding before shrugging and plucking up a dirty rag to wipe his hands clean. "She asked and I couldn't say no." The older man responded with a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. "Besides, its somethin' to pass the time." Then Dale tilted his head curiously. "How ya feelin'?"

"Fine." Daryl grunted dismissively – he was _really_ starting to hate that question. He eyed the truck for a moment, with its busted out windows and beat up frame, before shifting his gaze back to Dale. "Think you'll actually be able'ta fix it?" He asked to change the subject, a hint of doubt in his tone.

Dale nodded. "Oh, I can fix it…just can't guarantee it'll _stay _fixed once I do."

"Maybe it's time she cut 'er losses then." Daryl commented, just imagining how big of an inconvenience it would be if they had to stop to repair the banged up truck every couple of days once they were on the road again.

"I wouldn't count on that." Dale shot back with a knowing look. "This here was her _boyfriend's_ truck." He went on to explain – Daryl's expression went flat at the mention of Jenna's dead boyfriend. "Jenna told me she's keepin' it for sentimental reasons. I'm guessin' it's ta' hang on to a little part'a him." Dale shrugged. "Understandable, I s'pose…"

Daryl didn't have anything to say in response to that, but he wasn't the least bit surprised by what Dale had said. Of _course _that was why she wanted to keep the truck, even _if_ it was in pretty bad shape. Though her boyfriend was gone, it was pretty obvious that Jenna was still in love with him and still mourning his death – he could see it in her eyes every time she talked about him. Daryl told himself that he didn't care if she still had feelings for her dead boyfriend, that it didn't matter to _him_ whether Jenna still loved the guy or not.

Daryl's eyes turned away from Dale to survey the surrounding landscape, searching for any sign of the woman in question – he'd found himself doing this a lot over the past few days, keeping an eye out for Jenna so that he could visually confirm to himself that she was alright and that she wasn't doing anything that would end up in her getting hurt or killed. He didn't know _why _he'd started doing this, but it seemed it was starting to become a habit. Unfortunately, he was not being as discreet about it in that moment as he thought, because Dale quickly noticed what he was doing.

"She's out with T-Dog." The grey-haired man piped up, drawing Daryl's attention back to him – he didn't know what to make of the knowing gleam in Dale's eyes, but knew that if the old man _continued _looking at him like he knew something that _he_ didn't that he was probably going to get pissed off. "Just in case you're wondering where she is…" Dale added as an afterthought.

"I ain't." He grunted out. It was a lie of course, but there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that he was going to openly admit to wanting to know where Jenna was – people might start to get the wrong idea, might think that he was concerned about her or that he _cared_ what happened to her, which he didn't…or that was what he'd been telling himself, anyway.

Daryl had been trying to play it cool and appear unaffected by what he and Dale were discussing, and it seemed that his aloof behavior had indeed been effective…just not in the way that Daryl might have hoped – instead of convincing the older man that he wasn't concerned about anything having to do with Jenna Matthews, it seemed he had roused Dale's curiosity. The older man stared at him for a long second before narrowing his eyes in silent question and taking a few steps closer. Daryl watched him closely and instinctively squared his shoulders, having to resist the urge to take a step backward when Dale got in his personal space.

"Can I talk'ta you about somethin'?" Dale asked, lowering the volume of his voice and resting his hands on his hips, a move that made him look very much like a stern old man about to lecture his grandchild.

"What?" Daryl shot back, cautiously, guardedly.

Dale tilted his head, watching Daryl was scrutinizing eyes. "I've noticed Jenna's seemed a little…_troubled _lately, especially the past day or so…" He started, making Daryl's spine immediately stiffen – was this going where he thought it was? Had she confided in Dale about the things going down between them? He _really _fucking hoped not. "I've tried askin' her about it, but she won't go into detail," he continued, answering Daryl's unspoken question.

"So?" Daryl asked curtly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, every time I've seen her upset it's after she's seen _you_." The accusatory tone that his voice took on made Daryl cock an eyebrow in warning; Dale seemed unintimidated. "So since she won't talk, now I'm gonna ask _you_ about it – is there somethin' goin' on between the two'a you? Are you guys having issues again?"

Now first off, Daryl didn't like it when people pried into his personal life – as far as he was concerned, what he did on his own time was nobody else's fucking business. Second, whatever this _thing _was between him and Jenna was something that even _he _didn't understand, let alone something that he could explain to someone _else_. And that's even if he _wanted _to talk to someone about it, which he didn't. These things combined with both the fact that he was confused as all hell by that stubborn-ass, smart-mouthed redhead _and _was still in quite a bit of physical pain after his spill the day before had Daryl immediately glowering at Dale in response, his eyes narrowing with anger. He was in absolutely _no _mood for this kind of conversation right now, and especially not with _Dale_.

"I don't see how that's any'a your business, _old man_." Daryl snapped, not really caring if Dale thought he was being an asshole – served him right for sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

Dale seemed slightly taken aback, but not nearly as offended as Daryl might've thought he'd look. In fact, it almost seemed as though Dale had _expected _him to be defensive about it. "I'm only bringin' it up because I don't want it affecting the group." Dale countered, hands raised in surrender. "You almost got yourself _killed _yesterday 'cause you refused'ta bring Jenna along. And – "

"I almost got killed 'cause'a that damned _horse_." Daryl corrected, interrupting Dale mid-sentence. "'Sides, I got myself back alive, didn't I?" He asked, fixing an annoyed glare on the older man. After a moment of hesitation, Dale pressed his lips together and nodded his head once in a conceding gesture. "Then there ain't nothin'ta worry 'bout, is there? So I suggest you drop it."

Wanting to have the last word on this particular subject, Daryl then turned and left before Dale could say anything in response. He decided that he'd gotten enough fresh air for the time being and headed back for his tent before anyone else had the chance to pull him into a conversation he didn't want to have. Once inside the safety of his own shelter, he dropped down onto into his bed with a heavy, annoyed heaved, wincing when he did so a little too roughly.

Now Daryl had been doing everything in his power _not _to think about Jenna _or_ what had been going on between them, but now that Dale had approached him about it, _she _and their _problems _seemed to be all he could think about.

Plain and simple, Daryl Dixon was not the type of man to fret over a woman. Mostly because, well, he was a _man _God-damnit (and men didn't _fret_), but also because there were very few women that he'd met throughout his lifetime who were actually _worth_ that much energy. In the past, most women he had gotten involved with had been nothing more than distractions for the night, maybe a weekend if they didn't annoy him _too _much. They were a temporary cure for his loneliness, someone to occupy his time and his bed and make him forget, even if only for a little while, about how sad and pathetic his former life had been. Perhaps not the most admirable way to go about that aspect of his life, but it had been good enough for him.

…but Jenna? She was…well…she was _something_ all right.

She wasn't anything like the loose, trashy women he'd pick up at the bar pre-zombie apocalypse, whose clothes were two sizes too small, whose faces were caked with inches of poorly-done make-up, and who didn't have a clue about how the world worked – Jenna was smart and strong, a fighter, made tough by all the shit she'd been through and managed to overcome. She could handle herself and didn't need anyone to do her dirty work for her, which was more than what he could say for most of the _other_ women in the group. She also had the rare ability to take his attitude and bullshit in stride (most of the time), and possessed the even _rarer _gift of being able to dish it right back, which was as impressive as it was annoying. And as far as _looks _went, Daryl couldn't deny it – Jenna was a beautiful woman, and was only made _more _appealing by the fact that she was one helluva zombie killer.

He'd known (but vehemently denied) that he was attracted to her within days of her joining the group, but had been determinedly telling himself ever since that it was nothing, that he didn't care about her or see her as anything more than a good fighting companion to have in a sticky situation...yet deep down, Daryl knew it was a lie, even if he wasn't ready to admit that to himself yet.

Daryl heaved and shook his head, continuing to think about what Dale had just told him and cursing the old man for forcing him to think about things he didn't want to – he knew _exactly _why Jenna was upset, and it was undoubtedly because of the way he'd been treating her…and okay, maybe to some _small_ degree he actually felt a little guilty about it. Because even though he would probably never admit it out loud, Jenna was right – they _had _survived some serious shit together, he'd _also _thought that they'd reached an understanding when they'd been on that highway. She'd even gotten him to talk about his life pre-apocalypse, for shit's sake, which was a feat all in its own. He knew he'd been treating her unfairly, especially so considering the fact that Jenna _had_ saved his life.

The unfamiliar feeling of guilt made his frustration grow, which, in turn, caused his anger to spike.

Why was he letting any of this bother him? This was all _her _fault, anyway – the last thing he had expected when he'd agreed to having a few drinks with Jenna was for her to try to kiss him and it had taken him completely by surprise. So what the hell _else _was he supposed to do in this situation? Talk things out with her like they were in _couple's therapy_? Discuss his _feelings_? No thank you – that wasn't his style at all.

But as Daryl thought about what had happened that night a little bit more, remembered what it felt like to have her so close to him and looking at him the way she had, he realized that he didn't know what freaked him out more: the fact that she'd made a move on him or that he'd actually _wanted _her to, that he'd _wanted _to kiss her.

_Why you pinin' over some skirt, ya pussy? You know she don't __**really **__care __'bout you, _a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his head, making him freeze on the spot. _Why would she?_, the voice went on to ask cynically.

The voice in his head was one that he knew well – it belonged to his brother Merle, whom he'd hallucinated seeing yesterday when he was laying in that damned creek bed half-concussed and with an arrow in his side. Daryl's eyes popped open and he looked around his tent, half-expecting to see another ghostly image of his lost brother, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

With a scowl he shook his head and ran an agitated hand through his hair, trying to force the voice of his brother out of his head and failing. _You ain't nothin' but a mistake, she said so 'erself – an' that's what you __**always**__ been, lil' brother. Someone's __**mistake**__, _Merle's voice continued to taunt in his gritted his teeth, feeling angered by the words even though it was his _own_ head making them up. _What, ya thought she actually __**liked**__ ya?, _the voice said scornfully, _Are you some kinda __**idiot**__?_

He didn't want to believe hallucination-Merle, but he _did _have a point. Women like Jenna didn't go for guys like him unless it was a last resort type of situation (like an apocalypse, for example) or unless they were heartbroken and looking for a 'bad boy' to take them home and fuck all their problems away (like after getting dumped or, in Jenna's case, losing the person they loved). He was almost certain that she didn't _really _care about him, and what good would it do for _either _of them even if she did? What did she expect, for him to take the place of her dead boyfriend? For him to swoop in like some knight in shining armor and fix the pieces of her broken heart? _Yeah right, _Daryl thought with a snort. If _that _was what Jenna wanted, then she was barking up the wrong tree – whatever had happened by that fire a few nights ago was just what she had said, a mistake, a moment of insanity on both their parts.

…at least, that was what Daryl wanted to believe, because it was so much easier and less complicated than the alternative.

With a scowl, Daryl flopped onto his back and stretched out on his bed, ignoring the throb of pain in his side and head – _this _was why he didn't get involved with shit like this, because he didn't understand it and because it drove him abso-fuckin'-lutely insane. He didn't have the first clue about relationships or how they worked or how (and _why_) people even went about getting into them in the first place – the word 'romance' wasn't even in his vocabulary, nor was it something that he wanted _or _needed. Daryl didn't know what this was between him and Jenna, but knew in the end that it would probably be better for them _both _if he just kept his distance from her and didn't allow anything else to progress any further between them.

Having come to a decision on the matter, Daryl finally, dutifully, closed his mind to any thoughts about Jenna Matthews and settled further into his bed before reaching for that boring ass book again. Then, to keep his mind preoccupied so that he wouldn't think about a certain redhead, he once again tried to give it a read.

* * *

Jenna and T-Dog decided to wrap up their search when her leg started to feel a little irritated and headed back for the farm, making it back to Hershel's a little after four. The first person to spot them once they had crossed the field and were heading for the camp was Dale – he had just let the hood to Jenna's truck fall shut when he looked over and saw them walking up.

"Welcome back!" He said with a smile, clearly relieved to see the both of them returning in good health. After Jenna and T-Dog both waved to him in greeting, Dale wagged his pointer finger at Jenna. "I've got a surprise for _you, _little lady." He said announced, his smile growing.

With that he hurried over to the driver's side and hauled himself up into the seat, depositing himself in front of the steering wheel. Jenna and T-Dog came to a halt in front of the truck and shared a quick look with each other as they both waited to see what Dale's surprise was – when Dale turned on the ignition and the engine suddenly roared to life, Jenna immediately grinned. "Tah-dah!" The older man called to them, gesturing with his arms grandly.

Jenna momentarily forgot about all the issues weighing on her mind and directed a grateful smile at Dale, hurrying to join him by the driver's side after he cut the engine again and hopped out of the truck. "Thank you, Dale!" She said, throwing her arms around his neck to hug him without giving it a second thought – he seemed a little taken aback at first, but then returned the hug and patted her back a few times. "You're the best." Jenna told him with a large smile once they had pulled away from each other.

"I try, I try." He said, waving off her compliments modestly.

"Good job, ol' timer." T-Dog complimented, coming over to join them and whacking Dale across the back a few times in congratulations. "Guess ya haven't lost your touch yet." Dale chuckled at that. "So…anything exciting happen while we were out?" He then asked, glancing around at the relatively quiet camp.

"Nothin' outta the ordinary." Dale answered with a shrug. "Andrea an' Shane are still out," he began to list off, carrying on with the conversation, "Glenn's in his tent avoidin' Maggie," Jenna's eyebrows rose at hearing that, "Carol's takin' a nap, I think. And I saw Lori runnin' off that'a ways a little while ago," he finished, pointing down a long dirt trail. "Don't know why, though." He added as an after thought, shrugging a clueless shoulder. "Any luck out there?" Dale then asked.

T-Dog and Jenna both shook their heads. "Not much, no." Jenna said with a sigh. She then glanced around in search of the group's leader – now that some of the excitement over her fixed truck had worn off, she was remembering her mission to talk with Rick. "Have you seen Rick anywhere?" She asked Dale.

"Talkin' to Daryl, last I saw."

Jenna nodded, glanced in the direction of Daryl's tent, then started heading that way after saying her goodbye's to Dale and T-Dog. Sure enough, once she was close enough to see Daryl's tent she saw that the flap in the front was wide open and that Rick was sitting just inside. Ignoring her pounding heart and the nervous somersaults her stomach had started doing when she saw Daryl inside as well, Jenna gathered up her courage and made her way over with resolute steps.

They were talking about Sophia's doll and going over possible search grids once she reached Daryl's tent and could hear their conversation. Jenna cleared her throat to grab their attention, then resisted the urge to flush when both Rick _and _Daryl turned to look at her – Rick seemed pleased to see her, but Daryl's expression was hard to read.

"Jenna," Rick greeted with a smile, "good'ta see ya back. How'd the search go?"

Jenna kept her eyes trained on Rick, refusing to look in Daryl's direction. "No surprises this time around, but nothing that could lead to Sophia either." She said with a helpless shrug – Rick's smile fell in disappointment, but he nodded his understanding. Jenna took a moment to glance over at Daryl, who was watching her in complete silence, then focused on Rick again. "You got a minute?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "I need to talk to you about somethin' important."

Rick's eyebrows immediately stitched together. Daryl's interest also seemed as though it had been momentarily piqued, but he did his very best to quickly conceal it. "Sure." Rick agreed as he got to his feet. "We'll finish this later." He said to Daryl, gesturing towards the map – after Daryl nodded his head once in agreement, Jenna and Rick stepped out of his tent and headed away from camp for privacy; when Jenna glanced back, she saw that Daryl was watching them through the sheer mesh of his tent.

"What's up?" Rick asked once they were out of the hearing range of the others. "Is everything okay?"

Well, wasn't _that _a loaded question…

Jenna, deciding not to waste his or her time by beating around the bush, turned to face him fully and crossed her arms over her chest. "I had an interesting conversation with T-Dog while we were out today." She went on to say, getting right down to business. When Rick raised his eyebrows expectantly, Jenna just came out with it. "He said Fort Benning wasn't the plan anymore, that you were trying to convince Hershel to let the group stay _here_." Rick straightened up at hearing that. "Is that true?"

The two stared one another down for a silent second before he released a sigh and nodded his head. "That's _mostly _true." He confirmed, hesitation apparent on his features. "I was gonna talk'ta you about that…I just hadn't gotten around to it yet." Jenna nodded slowly, her eyes turning away from his as she her mind started filling with unanswered questions. "Nothin's for sure, Jenna." Rick went on to reassure her quickly. "Fort Benning isn't completely out of the picture just yet."

She looked back at him with a frown of consternation. "Fort Benning isn't out of the picture at _all_…at least, not for _me_." Jenna told him matter-of-factly. Rick immediately pressed his lips together tightly at hearing that. "Look, I like this group. You guys took me in when you didn't have to and took care of me, and I'm grateful for it." She said, her voice sincere. Jenna then shook her head with a helpless shrug. "But I came to Georgia for the _sole purpose _of finding Sam – he's family, Rick. If he's still waiting for me at Fort Benning, I have to at least _try _to get there."

Rick considered her words for a moment. "I understand," he told her slowly, "believe me I do. An' you're a grown woman capable of makin' your own decisions, so I won't tell ya what or what not'ta do...but I'd be lyin' if I didn't tell ya that I think you'd be makin' a mistake."

Jenna shifted on her feet. "Mistake?" She asked doubtfully, wanting Rick to explain himself.

"Jenna, this farm has food, protection, medical supplies…everything anyone could ever _hope _for under circumstances like this_._ Out _there_, on the _road_," he said, pointing in the general direction that the highway was in, "is nothin' but danger, especially if you're on your own – you of _all _people know that."

She frowned at hearing that, knowing very well (and probably better than most) just how dangerous the road was. "I know the risk, Rick." She said, letting him know that she didn't need reminding. "But I also know how to take care of myself and was doing _just _fine before you guys came along." Not completely true, but Rick didn't need to know that. "Rick, the only reason I joined this group in the first place was because we were both headed to the same place, and if that's changed then I might not have any choice but to continue on by myself. Sam is the _only _person I have left and if he's – "

"You're wrong." Rick interrupted, making her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "You have _us_, Jenna." He continued in a serious tone, placing his hand on his own chest for emphasis. "Whether ya like it or not, you're part'a this group now. I mean, hell…look how _far _you've come already an' you've only been with us for a week." He pointed out. When she sighed and turned her eyes away for a moment, not sure she wanted to admit to herself that he was _right_, Rick continued. "Look, I know you wanna find your bother…but the bottom line is that there ain't no survivin' in this world on your own anymore." He told her matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument. "We can _all_ start a new life here – we can look out for each other, _help _each other…we can _survive together_."

Jenna held his gaze for a moment before shaking her head, feeling absolutely clueless as to where to go from there – the way Rick was talking let her know that he was set on trying to work out a deal with Hershel. But if everyone else agreed to stay on the farm, what was _she_ supposed to do? There was still a large part of her that wanted to find Sam, wanted to have him by her side if he was still alive and wanted to fulfill the promise she'd made to her dying mother. But, admittedly, there was also a part of her that wanted to stay with the _group_, wanted to just forget the past and start over with the people that were becoming her friends, the people she was starting to care about; Jenna had never felt so torn or conflicted in her entire life.

"I dunno, Rick." She told him with a resigned shrug. "This isn't an easy choice to make – I'm gonna have to give it some _serious _thought."

Rick nodded his head. "I figured as much." He told her, a hint of resignation in his voice. "Promise me at least one thing, though?" Rick continued, this time with a slightly pleading look in his eyes. "Don't go anywhere until we know for sure what the plan is?"

Jenna only had to think about it for a second before she nodded. "I can agree to that."

This seemed to appease Rick for the moment. "Alright then…" He told her slowly. Having said what he wanted to say, Rick then started to leave so that she could have solitude to think everything over – just as he was about to brush past her, though, he paused. "I dunno if Hershel'll let us stay here or not, but if he does…I hope ya decide'ta stay with the group." Rick said, eyeing her steadily as they stood almost shoulder-to-shoulder. "You've done a lot to help us out, more than ya might realize. An' everyone here respects ya because of it." He paused, then said in a low, serious voice, "You're _good _for this group, Jenna…an' we're good for _you_. Just…remember that when you're tryin'ta decide what ya wanna do."

And with that Rick walked away, leaving her to mull over his words.

* * *

Later that night, long after Shane and Andrea returned to camp – their search had proven to be as unsuccessful as Jenna and T-Dog's – and after dinner had been eaten, all but a few decided to call it an early night and retired to their respective tents for the remainder of the evening; only T-Dog and Andrea could be seen sitting around the campfire, enjoying the last bits of warmth from the flickering flames as the fire slowly died out.

Jenna, who'd spent the majority of the evening thinking about what she and Rick had discussed, was on her way back from using the bathroom when she saw that a lone figure was standing atop Dale's RV – upon closer inspection she realized that it was Dale himself, and that he was currently holding a pair of binoculars up to his eyes as he stared in the direction of Hershel's barn. Jenna frowned thoughtfully for a moment, wondering what had caught the old man's attention, before she headed towards the large camper to pay him a visit. Her healing leg protested some as when she started climbing up the ladder on the back of the RV, but she ignored the discomfort and carefully continued upward.

"See something interesting?" Jenna asked once she had climbed up far enough to be able to see Dale.

The sound of her voice seemed to catch him off guard and had him jumping in surprise. Dale quickly moved the binoculars away from his eyes and whirled around to face her as she ascended the last few rungs and pulled herself up onto the roof. "Good _lord_, Jenna!" Dale hissed, placing a hand over his heart as he left out a heavy breath. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Jenna flashed Dale a guilty smile as she stood to her full height. "Sorry." She apologized, heading over to join him with slow, cautious steps – Carol was probably already asleep inside the camper, so Jenna was trying not to be noisy so as not to wake her. "What're you looking at?" Jenna asked curiously once she was by Dale's side, eyes turned in the direction of the barn.

Dale waved a dismissive hand, and, without missing a beat, said nonchalantly, "Bird watching – I thought I saw an owl in that tree over by the barn." His quick response made Jenna question whether he was telling the truth or not, but she decided to accept what he'd told her and nodded her head in understanding.

There was a brief stretch of silence where neither said anything, merely gazed out at their surroundings and listened to the chirping insects hidden in the earth around their camp. It was a little windier up there on top of the RV and the air was crisper now that it was nighttime; Jenna, donned in a light jacket, shivered and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"It's getting colder." She commented. "It'll be winter before we know it…" Jenna then pursed her lips – it was hard enough adjusting to this new life while they were in the last remnants of summer; she could only imagine how much _harder _it would be whenever winter came and they were all freezing their asses off. "First winter in Zombieland…can't wait." She added with a sarcastic huff.

Dale made a sound of agreement but it came across a bit noncommittal. Jenna glanced over at him and saw that he wasn't looking at her, but rather at something behind her with a very pensive look on his face – she glanced over her shoulder to see what had grabbed his attention and saw that Andrea and T-Dog, who had been sitting together by the campfire and quietly talking to each other, had just been joined by Shane. Jenna turned her gaze back to Dale in silent question, but he quickly directed his attention elsewhere.

"Kind of a strange night tonight, huh?" She asked next, attempting to pull him into conversation for the second time – Jenna was referring to the fact that a weird mood seemed to have settled over the group that evening. Almost everyone, herself included, seemed to be caught up in their own personal problems, so much so that it had been nearly impossible to even hold a decent conversation with each other, with any attempt _to _start one being half-hearted and unenthusiastic. Needless to say, the aura around the camp was a rather awkward one.

Dale nodded in agreement. "Yeah, strange night…" He echoed distractedly, eyes still not-so-discreetly darting in the direction of Shane every so often.

Jenna finally quirked an eyebrow and nudged the older man in the side to grab his full attention – Dale jumped a bit but finally shifted his gaze over to meet hers. "You alright, old timer?" Jenna asked uncertainly. "You're acting weird."

Dale suddenly frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Yeah, yeah." He replied unconvincingly. "Just…got a lot on my mind."

Jenna raised her eyebrows in disbelief, silently telling the older man that she wasn't buying whatever act he was trying to sell her. "Dale…" She chided knowingly. "You're not a very convincing liar." He pursed his lips at hearing that. "Tell me what's goin' on." Jenna then urged.

It took Dale so long to respond that, for a moment or two, she didn't think he was going to say anything at all. Finally, Dale sighed before saying, "Its Shane." Jenna immediately frowned and took a quick second to glance at Shane over her shoulder – he'd been his same, brooding self all evening long, but that wasn't anything out of the norm for him in recent days. "Remember what we were talkin' about yesterday? About him an' Otis an' that gun?" After Jenna nodded in confirmation, Dale let out a long heave. "I confronted him about it."

Jenna's eyes immediately widened with shock. "What?" She asked in a low voice, staring at him in disbelief. "When?"

"After he and Andrea came back from their search earlier this evening."

"What did you say to him?"

"Exactly what I meant to," Dale replied defensively. "I told him that I didn't believe his story about that night at the high school, that I thought he was a danger to the group, and that I thought it would be better for _everyone _if he just left." He told her honestly, not even a hint of remorse in his voice.

Jenna blinked in astonishment – she didn't know Shane very well, but he'd been letting off a warning vibe for the past few days that plainly stated he was _not _to be messed with; it took a _lot _of balls to say something like that to somebody like him. "And what did _he _say?" She asked next, very curious to hear of Shane's reaction to this; it couldn't have been a good one.

"He threatened me." Dale said simply, as though she should have known that was the only possible answer.

Jenna stared at Dale for a moment before letting out a heavy breath and shaking her head. "Jesus, Dale…" She scolded, just imagining what kind of shit-storm he'd managed to stir up by confronting Shane. She understood why he was suspicious – Shane's story was full of holes and he _was _acting weird – but wasn't there enough going on already _without _Dale provoking the man?

"What was I supposed to do, Jenna?" He asked in rebuttal. "Sweep it under the rug? Pretend Shane had nothing to do with Otis' death? Pretend he _isn't _a danger to everyone in this group?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jenna said to interrupt his rant, holding her hands up to silence him. "Just…pump the brakes for a second." She suggested – after Dale sucked in a deep breath and let it out as a heave, she dropped her voice and continued. "I get why you're concerned about Shane, but you have to be _careful _with stuff like this, Dale – you can't just go throwing around accusations about people when you don't know the whole story. That's only gonna put a target on _your _back."

"You think I care about that?" Dale shot back, keeping his voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard. "I'm lookin' out for the _group_ here – he's dangerous and it's time everyone realizes that before someone _else _gets hurt…or _worse_." Then he pointed a finger at her. "You know I'm right, Jenna. You've seen the way he's been acting and you knew there was something off with his story about Otis' death the second I told you."

Jenna sighed, not sure she liked the way this conversation was going. It felt like Dale was trying to get her to side with him and rally against Shane. "Yeah, it was weird," she admitted reluctantly, "but – "

"But what?" Dale interrupted.

"But I wasn't there when it happened." Jenna reminded him pointedly. "And neither were _you_ – neither of us has any idea what _actually _went down that night."

"That doesn't matter." Dale protested with a shake of his head. "I _know _what he did, Jenna, I've _seen him_ for who he really is. And he's a threat to this group."

Jenna couldn't think of anything to say in response to that, which she supposed didn't matter because she doubted anything she might've said would have changed Dale's mind anyway – he seemed convinced that Shane was some murderous lunatic hell-bent on destroying the group, which might or might not be true but could very well end up being the case if Dale continued going on about it like he was and stirring up the wasp's nest.

"Look, Dale – " She started, intending to warn him that he should be careful about who else he expressed these concerns to. But when they both suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps, Jenna and Dale turned to see who had wandered in their direction before immediately falling silent.

How does that phrase go? Speak of the devil and he shall come?

Jenna and Dale both tensed when they saw that Shane had made his way over and was gazing up at them, his eyes flickering between back and forth between them. "What you two whisperin' about up there?" Shane asked steadily, eyebrows raising a bit.

When Dale merely stared back at Shane without uttering a single syllable, Jenna cleared her throat to break the uncomfortable silence. "Just getting a few tips on truck maintenance." She answered casually, making Shane's gaze zero in on her – it was hard to tell whether he bought the lie or not, seeing as the stony expression on his face didn't change. "What's up?"

Shane shot another look towards Dale, who was staring back at him with a guarded expression on his face. "I've got first watch tonight." Shane answered. Then he shrugged a shoulder indifferently. "That is unless one'a ya'll want it instead..." He trailed off, looking as though he didn't care either way.

A beat of silence passed before Dale spoke up. "I can handle it." He told Shane in a steady voice, eyes never turning away from him even for a second – Shane didn't say or do anything for a few seconds, but finally he nodded his head one time in understanding. Dale finally turned a pointed look on Jenna. "You had a busy day today – you should go get some rest." He suggested. "I'll be alright up here by myself."

Jenna gazed back at Dale for a second, glanced over at Shane, then turned back to Dale again. She was getting the distinct feeling that Dale was purposefully trying to get rid of her – maybe it was so that Shane wouldn't start to think that _she _was in on whatever Dale was scheming, as well – but leaving him alone with Shane after everything they'd just discussed didn't seem like the best idea. When Dale merely raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to do as he'd said, she finally nodded her head and started for the ladder.

The moment she climbed down from the roof of the RV and started in the direction of her tent, Jenna could feel Shane's watchful gaze on her – she dared a quick look up at him as she went past and saw a hint of suspicion lurking in his eyes as he watched her go, making a jolt of awareness shoot down her spine…and _not_ in a good way. Jenna acted like she hadn't noticed, however, bid goodnight to both men, then continued on. She only chanced another look back once she had reached her tent, wanting to see what was going on now that she had left the two men by themselves – when she saw that Shane had walked away from the RV and was making his way back to his own tent, she breathed a little easier.

With one last look at Dale, who was watching Shane leave with untrusting eyes, Jenna ducked into her tent to get settled for the night.

* * *

_Jenna recognized the lodge as soon as she saw it. There it was, nestled away in the dense forest, looking innocent and safe and secure…but she knew it was anything __**but**__ those things. This was where she, Jon, Bill, and the young hitchhiker they'd picked up out of the goodness of their hearts – his name had been Chad – had come to seek shelter and refuge. And it was here that the hitchhiker had turned on them, had connected with his bandit buddies and allowed them to wreak havoc on what was left of their group. This was where they had gotten attacked, where Jon and Bill had lost their lives, where Jenna herself had nearly met an untimely end. _

_For a long moment she could only stare at the wooden house with wide, frightened eyes and listen to the pounding of her own heart – this place was bad, full of memories that she wanted to forget; it was the events that had happened __**here**__ that had made her lose her hope and trust in humankind. Jenna didn't want to go inside, didn't really even want to go near it, but she almost felt magnetized to the lodge – she suddenly found that she couldn't stop her feet from carrying her forward, left, right, left, right…_

_Onward she trudged, heart pounding even harder and palms feeling a little sweat as she neared the small house, until a figure lying on the ground some six feet to her left caught her attention. Jenna froze – it was Bill. He was in the exact spot that he had been killed in, lying lifeless in the dirt, covered in blood, his body riddled with gunshot wounds, beyond help now. The sight made her throat constrict and her stomach turn; it was wrong that Jon's father, a man that always been kind and caring and generous, had been left to rot with such reckless abandon. He deserved so much more than that. _

_A noise from the lodge caught Jenna's attention. Her eyes quickly shifted from Bill's corpse to the small house, and when another sound echoed inside, she gulped. Everything in her told her to run, to just leave this place before something –or __**someone **__– bad found her…but again she felt drawn to the house, as though it were a siren and she was incapable of ignoring its tempting call._

_Jenna finally took a step in the direction of the house, but not without casting one more look at Bill – she blinked in surprise when she saw that his body seemed to have disappeared into thin air. _

_Confused, frightened, and worried all at the same time, Jenna continued toward the lodge when more sounds emanated from the house. Where had Bill's body gone? What was happening right now? Her mind raced with thoughts like these as she slowly walked up to the front door and then reached out to grasp the doorknob – for a second Jenna closed her eyes, fearing that she already knew what awaited her on the other side of that door, but after a few moments she finally, bravely, turned the knob and slowly stepped inside. _

_She was met with silence. Still, unwavering, deafening silence. _

_The place looked much like it had when she had been there last – old musty furniture, tacky plaid drapes, various personal items of theirs strewn carelessly about the room. The only difference now was that there were three dead men on the floor; two of them were near the front door, but one was by the open window at the back of the room. _

_Jenna bypassed the two men by the door – men who had been apart of the group that had attacked them but had been killed by Jon (she assumed) when they broke into the house – and headed for the lone figure on the other side of the room. With a shaky breath she came to a halt next to the lifeless form, feeling her heart break into a million pieces all over again when she saw that the dead man was Jon. He had forced her to leave when the bandits had come, had demanded that she run and save herself while he stayed behind to fight them off. She hadn't wanted to leave him, had begged and pleaded and cried for him to come with her, but he'd stayed behind to give her a fighting chance to live – Jenna hadn't even made it twenty feet from the lodge when she'd heard the shouts, heard the gunshots. And by the time she'd turned to see what had happened, Jon was already dead. _

_Jenna sank to her knees next to Jon's body and reached for his hand, wincing when she felt how cold to the touch he was. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the ceiling above, no longer holding that spark of life and warmth that she had loved so much. Jenna closed her eyes and hung her head, feeling a giant sob beginning to rise up in her chest as she squeezed his hand tighter, wishing all of this was just a joke and that Jon was still alive…_

_When Jenna opened her eyes again, she was shocked to see that it was no longer Jon that she was kneeling next to, that she was holding the ice-cold hand of. No, now it was someone else entirely, a man that had been an unexpected development in her life, a man that she feared she was starting to care for but who she knew absolutely hated her guts…it was Daryl. And he was dead, staring back at the world with blank, empty eyes, his skin colder than ice underneath her fingers._

"_Daryl?" Jenna croaked out, leaning closer to get a better look – when not even one muscle in his body moved, it felt as though her heart had turned to lead. "Daryl?!" She tried again in a more panicked tone, shaking him now. _

_Suddenly Daryl moved. His cold, clammy hands shot out and closed tightly around her wrists, his teeth started gnashing as low, gurgling, growling sounds emitted from deep in his throat, and when his eyes swiveled downward to finally meet her gaze, he looked at her with nothing but a ravishing, unfulfilled hunger. He had turned into one of __**them**__, one of the chompers, and Jenna was what he wanted for dinner._

"_No!" Jenna cried, trying to struggle free – the grip around her wrists tightened. "Please…no!" But he wasn't listening, because zombies didn't hear or understand pleas for mercy. Once you turned there was no more hope – he would never be the man he once was ever again. "Daryl!" _

_Then more hands were grabbing her, more groans matching that of Walker-Daryl's – Jon, Bill, Kelly, her mother…all of them had come back and were pawing at her hungrily, pulling her under as they all surrounded and closed in on her. Jenna tried to fight her way out, but it was useless; she was outnumbered and had nowhere to go. She cried out as teeth and nails started tearing into her flesh, making pain spring up in her arms and legs and back. The last face she saw was Daryl's, hovering over hers like a hungry lion staring down its prey before he suddenly lunged forward and sank his teeth into her throat…_

Jenna awoke with a sharp intake of break, her eyes popping open in shock and staring at the ceiling of her tent for a few disoriented seconds. When it finally registered that it had only been a dream, that she was _not _back at that lodge but in the group's camp on Hershel Greene's land, in her tent, and that Daryl was alive and well and _not _a zombie, she let out a heavy sigh and raised her hands up to cover her face, blocking out the bright sunlight announcing the arrival of a new day.

She'd often dreamt about the time that she, after being on the run from pursuing bandits and lost in the woods for two days, had finally managed to make it back to that Godforsaken hunting lodge and had found Jon and Bill's lifeless bodies amongst the leftover carnage…only never _once _had those dreams ended the way it had this time around. That Jon's body had been replaced with Daryl's was unexpected and very strange – that Daryl and her lost loved ones had turned into zombies and attacked her was also a new, even more disturbing development. Jenna had to wonder if her subconscious was trying to tell her something…or if it was just trying to punish her.

Though still irked after the troubling nightmare, Jenna finally dropped her hands from her face and sat up as the ghastly, gruesome images finally started to fade away – it was then that she remembered Daryl telling her that she talked in her sleep when she had nightmares like this. With a curse, Jenna dropped her face into her hands before shaking her head and heaving – she _sincerely _hoped that she _hadn't _been shouting Daryl's name in her sleep; that would just be downright _humiliating._

After getting dressed for the day and venturing out of her tent, Jenna found that she was one the last ones to wake that morning – just about everyone else was already sitting somewhere near the cooking fire eating breakfast or, in Andrea's case, sharpening weapons. As she headed over to join everyone, she noticed that Daryl was sitting in a chair close to the fire and that his eyes turned in her direction when she came walking up – for a second all Jenna could see was the _undead_ version of him, but when she blinked he looked his normal self again.

"Morning." She greeted, addressing nobody in particular as she shifted her gaze away from Daryl's.

Jenna received a few murmured greetings in return, but that was about it. As she went to grab herself a little bit of food, it became apparent that the awkwardness from the previous night still seemed to be lingering around the camp – once again, there was little to no conversation taking place and several people seemed lost in their own thoughts. Jenna glanced around once she had her breakfast, trying to decide who looked the _least _awkward, and finally went to sit in one of the chairs near Andrea – the blonde looked up when Jenna dropped into the seat in front of her; the two women shared a quick, close-lipped smile before going back to their respective business.

Only moments later Shane came wandering into camp with a stony, indifferent expression on his face – without saying anything to anyone, he started in the direction of the fire so he could get his own helping of breakfast. Jenna froze when she looked up and saw that his attention was currently focused on _her_, the look in his dark eyes hard to read. When his stare became too unnerving to meet anymore, she shifted her eyes downward and stared intently at her plate.

Jenna could already tell it was going to be a weird day.

The next few minutes ticked by slowly and uncomfortably, the camp filled with nothing but the sounds of the group eating breakfast, the crackling fire, and Andrea's blade scraping against a cheese grater. Eventually movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and Jenna glanced over towards Glenn as he got to his feet and started making his way towards the front of the group – she watched him casually walk by, eyebrows furrowing together curiously as he shoved his hands into his pockets and then turned to face everyone.

Nothing could have possibly prepared her – or _any _of them – for what he was about to say.

"Uh, guys?" He said to catch everyone's attention. Once all eyes were turned on him, he continued. "So…" Glenn shifted uncomfortably. "The barn is full of walkers." He announced as though he were giving them the daily weather report.

This revelation was met with stunned silence as everyone in the group froze and stared at Glenn for a long few moments, trying to process what he had just said and what that meant – then, chaos erupted.

Panic and fear and concern spread through the group like wildfire as everyone stopped what they were doing and surged to their feet, surrounding Glenn and throwing question after question at him. After it became clear that Glenn didn't have much more information to offer than what he already had, told them Shane and Rick suddenly turned and started in the direction of the barn with purposeful steps, deciding to go and have a look for themselves - there was only one nanosecond of hesitation before everyone else quickly followed after them, hurrying towards the supposed walker-infested barn with growing feelings of apprehension.

Though there was no way any of them could have known it right then, this new turn of events was far more significant than any could have guessed. And on _this _day, in just a matter of hours..._everything_ was about to change.

* * *

**Thoughts? **


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter's a big one! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

_Chapter 16_

The entire time that Jenna had been on Hershel Greene's land, never once had she ventured anywhere near the barn. It wasn't that she had purposefully avoided the structure, but more that she had never had a _reason _to visit the barn – she and the others had kept themselves busy with other tasks over the past few days, plus when it came to carrying out chores around the farm, Hershel's people had adamantly denied anyone's help.

At first Jenna hadn't understood why Hershel and his people were so reluctant to let them pitch in, but now their reasons for keeping the group out of their business were pretty damn clear. As she stood before the old, rundown looking barn, only half-listening as those around her discussed the situation at hand, there was absolutely no mistaking the presence of the undead. The wooden walls of the barn were doing nothing to contain the putrid smell of rotting carcasses permeating from within. The palpable stench – something she still had never gotten used to – was strong enough to make her stomach turn, which meant there had to be a significant amount of walkers on the other side of that door. _So much for a safe haven,_ Jenna thought to herself. Food, shelter, and medical care were great, yes, but a barn full of flesh-eating monsters was _not._

So why did Hershel have zombies locked away in his barn? What the hell was the crazy old kook thinking? Seeing as his farm was virtually in the middle of nowhere, she understood that he was a little disconnected from the outside world…but didn't he realize how _dangerous _these things were? Wasn't that common knowledge to _every _living person by now?

When part of a rotting face appeared in the tiny sliver between the two doors, Jenna shifted uneasily on her feet and instinctively took a step backward – she _really _hoped those chains were are strong as they looked.

" – talkin' about Fort Benning for a _long time_, and if we – " Hearing Shane mention the army base made Jenna finally shift her attention to the heated discussion taking place around her.

"We _can't go._" Rick argued back harshly, shooting his right hand man a stern look. Jenna frowned uncertainly at hearing him say that – he had _said _nothing was decided in regards to their future plans yet, but now it sounded as though something had happened to change his mind; as it was, now was _not _the time to press him about the matter.

Shane shifted on his feet in frustration. "Why, Rick?" He demanded to know. "_Why_?"

But the one to answer his question wasn't Rick – it was Carol. "Because my daughter's still out there." She reminded him pointedly, looking very much upset that he was suggesting they leave without Sophia.

Shane's reaction to this, though not entirely unexpected given the way he'd been acting recently, had Jenna's spine stiffening with anger – he laughed a bit in exasperated disbelief, rubbed his hands over his face, then shook his head. "Carol…" He sighed out. "Okay," he continued resolutely, "I think it's time that we all start 'ta just…._consider _the other possibility." Shane suggested, leaving none of them with _any _doubts as to what he was getting at.

Jenna, who had kept her mouth shut so far, immediately narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you _serious_?" She asked scornfully, making his attention shift to her. "We can't just _give up_." She continued with a scowl of disapproval. "Sophia's a defenseless little girl – she _needs _us."

"_Thank you_, Jenna." Carol said loudly, obviously glad to have her support on the matter.

Shane glared at Jenna in response. "What, so we should just keep goin' out there roamin' blind through the woods? Keep puttin' our lives on the line?" He argued back. "You forgettin' what happened out on the highway? Or what happened'ta Daryl the other day?" He then shot at her, making her eyes widen – Jenna had known that Rick intended to tell Shane about the bandits back on the road, but other than him and T-Dog, nobody else had been any wiser…at least, up until that point.

"Wait – highway?" Andrea piped up in confusion, her confused gaze turning from Shane over to Jenna – she wasn't the only one either. Everyone but Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl seemed at a loss. "What's he talking about?" Jenna opened and closed her mouth a few times, so caught off guard by the abrupt change of subject that she was unable to get a response out; she shot a look at Daryl, looking for a bit of help, but he only met her gaze for a moment before turning a cold look on Shane. "Does this have something to do with Daryl looking like he got the _shit _beat out of him when you guys came to the farm?" Andrea suddenly asked, quickly putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Sure does." Shane answered before Jenna _or _Daryl could. "Jenna an' Daryl failed to mention that they got _jumped _while they were camped out on that highway lookin' for Sophia – damn near got themselves _killed_." A murmur sounded through the group in response, and several pairs of concerned eyes turned in their direction. "Now _you _of _all _people are gonna tell _me _that we need'ta keep pushin'?" He asked incredulously, narrowing his eyes at Jenna.

"That's what _we've_ been doing." Jenna countered pointedly, gesturing toward Daryl – she really wished he'd step up and have her back on this one, but it didn't look like he was in any rush to jump to her defense; she _wasn't _very surprised. "And you haven't heard us bitching about it either, have you? Yeah, it's dangerous," Jenna continued, "but _everything _is now – we can't just abandon a little girl and leave her to fend for herself."

"Jenna's right." Rick quickly spoke up before Shane could say anything else. "We're not givin' up the search, Shane. And we're not leavin' Sophia behind."

When Shane scoffed and shook his head, the expression on his face one of arrogance and incredulity, Daryl finally decided that he wanted to have a say in the matter. "Look, I'm close to findin' this girl," he told Shane impatiently, "Hell, I just found her damn doll two days ago – it's only a matter of time 'fore I'm on 'er trail again." He added, pacing a bit in his irritation as the discussion continued to escalate.

Shane actually laughed at that, which made Daryl's expression turn to one of barely concealed anger – Jenna herself ignored her mounting annoyance with Daryl as a red-hot prickle of anger slid down her spine at how dismissive Shane was of anything and everything having to do with Sophia. "You found her _doll_, Daryl, that's what you did – you found a _doll_."

There was a beat of silence where Daryl stared at Shane, seemingly unable to believe what he'd just heard, before he scowled with anger and threw an arm up in disgust. "Man, you don't know what the _hell _you're talkin' about!" He snapped roughly, taking a menacing step in Shane's direction and looking like he would have loved nothing more than to hit him in the face – the group tensed for a moment, half-expecting a punch to be thrown at any given moment, but Rick stepped in to intervene before anything could happen.

"Look, I'm just sayin' what needs to be said!" Shane stated loudly, ignoring Rick as he tried over and over again to get him to calm down. "If you even get a _good_ lead, it's in the first forty-eight hours – we been lookin' for the girl for _four days_ – _four Goddamn days_ – an' we ain't found _nothin_'." But he wasn't finished yet. "An' let me tell you somethin' else, man," he continued, rounding on Daryl with an arrogant, condescending smirk on his face, "if she _was_ alive out there and saw you comin' all _methed_ out with your buck knife an' geek ears around your neck, she woulda run in the _other direction_."

Jenna turned her eyes over to Daryl and managed to catch a glimpse of the outraged expression on his face only a split second before he lunged for Shane. Rick once again tried to intervene, but when Shane made a move to meet Daryl's challenge head on, hollering at the hot-headed man threateningly, Rick was unable to hold the two men back by himself. Several people jumped into action so that they could separate the two before they started throwing punches, Jenna included, and pandemonium erupted for a few seconds – not caring that she was potentially putting herself in the line of fire, Jenna managed to plant herself in front of Daryl and, with a little help from Andrea, pushed against his chest, forcing him back away from Shane; he was too busy glaring at Shane over her shoulder to notice that she kept a firm hand on his shoulder, keeping him at bay while the others tried to get Shane under control.

"Calm down, Shane!" Rick's voice rose above the shouts of the rest of the group. "Back off!"

Shane finally backed off when Lori moved in to shove against his chest, but he still looked as angry as a raging bull. "Keep your hands off me." He snapped at Lori, pointing a threatening finger in her face for a moment before turning to pace agitatedly – Jenna finally removed her hand away from Daryl's shoulder, but didn't move very far away in case things escalated again and she needed to hold him back.

"Just…let me talk to Hershel." Rick tried to reason once everyone had settled down again. "Let me figure it out."

Jenna, as well as several others, tensed when Shane whipped around and hollered, "What are you gonna figure out?!"

"Enough!" Lori shouted, trying to contain him again.

Rick seemed to have reached the end of his patience now. "If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it – this is _his land_." He snapped, glaring at Shane with anger and disapproval.

Finally, Dale, who'd watched the scene unfold in silence, decided to speak up. "Hershel sees those things in there as _people_." He revealed, drawing the attention of the group. "_Sick_ people – his wife, his stepson…"

"You knew?" Rick asked him incredulously, asking the question that was suddenly on everyone's mind.

"Yesterday I talked to Hershel." Dale confirmed – now Jenna understood why he'd _really _been watching the barn the night before; he'd been making sure none of the walkers in the barn were getting loose or about to wreak havoc on the camp.

"And you waited the _night _to tell us?" Shane asked, pinning a hard look on the older man.

"I thought we could survive one more night." Dale defended himself at once, glaring at Shane. "_We did_." Then he shifted his attention back to Rick. "I was waiting until this morning to say something but Glenn wanted to be the one."

Shane threw a hand up with a huff then turned to Rick with a scowl. "The man is crazy, Rick." He snapped loudly. "If Hershel thinks those things are alive – "

It seemed all of the commotion had finally riled up the walkers inside the barn, though, because in the next moment they started pushing against the doors of the barn, making the chains rattle loudly – the argument died off at once as everyone turned varying expression of fright and concern towards the walker-infected barn. While several others backed away when the corpses pushed even more urgently against the doors, Jenna stiffened and watched in a sort of stunned silence as the chompers tried to break free, desperate to get to the living humans standing only feet away.

"C'mon, let's move away from here." Rick called out, already starting to back away from the barn. "It isn't safe."

Nobody needed to be told twice – just about everyone started hurrying back towards the camp, eager to get away from the barely-contained threat on the other side of the doors. Jenna herself only lingered long enough to turn and share an unfriendly look with Shane, who was making no attempt to move away from the barn.

As reluctant as she had been the previous night to automatically believe the worst about him and throw him under the bus like Dale was, _now_, after hearing the things he'd just said and seeing him like this, she was starting to think that the old man might actually be _right_. Jenna knew better than to say this out loud, however, and finally headed away to catch up with the others. When she glanced over her shoulder, Shane was watching her walk away with narrowed eyes – he only stopped when Rick stepped in front of him, blocking her from his sight and drawing him into a hushed, heated conversation.

* * *

Though not a single person in the group was about to forget everything that had been revealed that morning, after a while they all decided to push it aside for the moment – or at least until Rick had a chance to speak to Hershel about the barn – and started going about their day as usual. In all honesty, that was really all they _could_ do given the circumstances. As uncomfortable as they all were with the prospect of zombies being locked up only a stone's throw away from camp, Rick had given them very strict instructions to leave the barn alone. All that was left to do was keep watch on the barn – this was Shane's idea, of course – and bide their time until Rick had an update for them.

Jenna eventually found Carol crouched over a large metal wash tub, a look of deep concentration on her face as she dipped a worn looking shirt into the soapy water and then started scrubbing it against a washboard. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't realized Jenna was even there until the redhead placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Carol jumped a bit then turned surprised eyes in Jenna's direction.

"Oh, hi." She greeted, forcing on a smile. "I didn't even hear ya."

Jenna smiled gently in return then gestured to the small stool on the other side of the wash tub. "Want some company?" Jenna asked. Then she eyed the pile of clothes next to Carol's seat. "Or some help?"

Some of the tension left Carol's shoulders in light of Jenna's offer. "I'm not opposed to either." She said, sounding grateful. "There's another washboard on the side of the tub there."

Jenna nodded and then rounded the wash tub, plopping down on the stool opposite of Carol. The two women shared another smile, then Jenna leaned over to grab the shirt on top of the laundry pile – it looked like one of Glenn's – and retrieved the washboard propped against the side of the metal tub.

For a long few minutes the two women worked in silence, the only sound filling the air that of soapy water sloshing around in the tub and the scrub of cloth over the rungs of the washboard. Jenna had come to see how Carol was feeling after hearing what Shane _really _thought about their plans to continue searching for Sophia, but at the moment it was impossible to tell what the older woman was thinking or feeling – she looked a little troubled, yes, but there was something else lurking in her blue eyes. Something that Jenna couldn't quite decipher.

"Is it true?" Carol suddenly asked, making Jenna pause. "What Shane said," she clarified, squinting at her, "did that really happen?"

Jenna pressed her lips together before nodding her head in confirmation. "Yeah." She answered honestly.

Carol stared at her for a long second before releasing a heavy sigh and shaking her head. "I'm sorry." She said meekly, turning her eyes downward and scrubbing the shirt in her hands harder, almost _punishingly _so, against the washboard.

"Don't be." Jenna immediately told her. "It's in the past now."

"That shouldn't have happened in the first place." Carol argued back. "You two should have _never _been put in that position…"

Jenna reached out to place a hand on Carol's forearm and stop her vigorous scrubbing. Carol's eyes shot back up to meet hers. "We _wanted _to stay, Carol." She reminded her. "It was _our _choice, not yours."

Carol's eyebrows came together as she frowned at the redhead in concern. "Jenna, you both could've – "

"But we didn't." Jenna interrupted, already knowing exactly what Carol was about to say. "We're both perfectly fine." She took a moment to think about that one a little more, then smirked at Carol jokingly. "Well…_mostly _fine, anyway."

Carol sighed again, but she seemed to understand that Jenna wasn't about to allow her to blame herself and nodded her head in resignation. Satisfied with Carol's reaction, Jenna patted her on the arm and then resumed with the wash – after a few seconds, Carol spoke again. "Why didn't ya'll say anything about it?" She asked curiously.

Jenna shrugged a shoulder, eyes turned downward as she submerged Glenn's shirt in the cool, soapy water. "We knew it'd just worry everyone, especially since Sophia's still out there somewhere." She explained, shifting her gaze up to meet Carol's. "Her being lost is bad enough already, but knowing lowlife assholes like _those _guys out there with her, well…that's even worse." Jenna stated matter-of-factly. "We decided to keep it on a need to know basis to avoid causing a panic."

The short-haired woman considered what Jenna had said for a moment before nodding her head in understanding. Then a small, genuine smile crossed her pretty features. "Thank you for what you did back there, for standing up for Sophia." Carol told her earnestly.

"You're welcome." Jenna said, smiling at her in return for a moment. "Shane's wrong to give up so quickly – _somebody _had to tell him to stop bitching and do what's right." She added, shooting a look in the direction of the barn, where the man in question was currently keeping watch.

Carol's smile grew a bit larger as she finished with the shirt in her hands and set it in a basket off to the side before reaching for the next article of clothing. Jenna finished with Glenn's shirt right after then followed Carol's suit, placing it in the basket to be hung and grabbing another shirt from the pile. "My Sophia was always shy, always reserved..." Carol told Jenna matter-of-factly, changing the subject. "…but she was actually a surprisingly good judge of character. She could tell who was good and who wasn't, who to trust and who to keep at bay." She turned a kind look on Jenna. "Even though she didn't know you very well, Sophia could tell you were a good person. She liked you."

As much as Jenna wanted to take comfort in what Carol had just told her, she couldn't overlook the fact that she was referring to Sophia in the past tense, as though the girl would never be coming back. Jenna wasn't sure whether she should call her out on that or not, though – it was possible that Carol didn't even realize she was doing it – so she kept her lips tightly sealed and offered a smile instead, silently telling the woman that she was grateful for her kind words.

It was then, as silence fell between the two women again, that Jenna just happened to glance up and see someone making their way towards the stables – she squinted and raised one soapy hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and get a better look, then frowned and heaved in dissatisfaction when she realized that it was Daryl. He stepped into a storage shed on the side of the  
stables only to reemerge a few moments later toting a saddle, which could only mean that he had plans to embark on another adventure through the forest.

"What is that moron doing?" Jenna mused aloud, glaring in Daryl's direction – did he not understand that he needed to rest? That he might actually end up dead if he continued to go out there on his own? She had to wonder at the man's never ending stubbornness; she even thought he might be more stubborn than _her_, which was definitely saying something.

"What moron?" Carol asked curiously, turning to see what Jenna was looking at. As soon as she spotted Daryl, she too frowned in concern. "Where's _he _going?"

Jenna dropped her hand from her eyes and redirected her attention back to Carol. "My guess is he's stickin' it to Shane and going out to look for Sophia again."

Carol's frown deepened. "But he's still hurt! He's only barely on his feet again!" She protested. When Jenna nodded her agreement, knowing very well how poor of condition Daryl was in, Carol clicked her tongue in a scolding fashion. "Someone should go talk sense into him, make him stay here before he winds up hurt even worse…"

After a few seconds, Jenna realized that Carol was looking to her with a _very _pointed expression on her face – it was impossible to misunderstand what she was hinting at. "Honey, you are lookin' to the _wrong _person for that." She told Carol with a cynical laugh. "Daryl doesn't wanna hear anything I have to say – in fact, I'm pretty sure that if _I _try to stop him then he'll _definitely _go just to spite me."

Carol seemed confused by this. "But…I thought you and Daryl were finally getting along." She stated unsurely.

Jenna just shook her head in denial, raising her eyebrows a little as she did do. "'_Were' _being the operative word in that sentence…" She corrected her. "But I'd rather not get into mine and Daryl's issues right now." She added quickly when Carol looked like she was going to question her further.

There was a beat of silence. "So you and Daryl…you're not, you know…involved?" Carol asked, raising her eyebrows in question.

"No." Jenna quickly answered. "_Hell _no." She added to emphasize her point. The older woman did seem a bit surprised to hear it at first, but then a different expression overtook her features as she gnawed at her lip and turned her eyes in the direction of the stables. Jenna wasn't entirely sure she knew what that look meant, but it made a weird feeling form in the pit of her stomach for a moment or two. "Why don't you go talk to him? He seems to listen to you." Jenna suggested, brushing off the unnamed feeling and deciding to change the subject – Carol pursed her lips, thinking it over for a moment. "Go." She urged, nodding her head in the direction Daryl had gone. "I'll hold down the fort here."

Carol finally nodded her head before drying her hands on a nearby towel and getting to her feet. "I'll be back." She said before heading off.

Now alone, Jenna refocused her attention on the laundry and resumed what she was doing, happy for something to keep her occupied even if it that something was as mundane of a task as washing clothes. She dunked the shirt in her hands into the water, lathered it up nice and good, then started scrubbing it along the washboard, working hard at a particularly large stain near the bottom that look suspiciously like dried blood.

Yet after only a few minutes, not having someone there to converse with and keep her mind busy made Jenna's thoughts start to wander. And it wasn't very long before she started mulling over all the problems at hand – what was going to happen with the walkers in the barn? Would Rick be able to convince Hershel to let them clear them out so as to ensure the safety of everyone on the farm? Would he also be successful at persuading the old farmer to allow the group to stay on the farm? And this of course brought on the mother of all questions that had been circling around in her head since the day before – would Jenna stay if that was the case or continue on by herself?

Jenna sighed with a hint of frustration. She had absolutely no answers yet, which was nearly as maddening as the questions themselves – when had things gotten so complicated? Luckily, before she could fret over anything for too much longer, a distraction in the form of Glenn walked by and caught her attention. She instantly quirked an eyebrow when she saw that he was covered in what appeared to be the contents of a busted egg.

"What happened to _you_?" Jenna asked, making Glenn pause.

He turned to her with a cringe, hat in one hand and a look of disgust on his face. "Maggie." He said simply, gesturing to his egg-covered head and shirt with his free hand. "She's pissed that I told you guys about the barn."

Jenna pulled a face. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She quoted, taking a moment to glance around for any sign of the pretty brunette – the woman in question was currently stomping in the direction of her house. Jenna then turned her eyes back over to Glenn. "I take it you guys are still on the outs?"

He nodded. "That's one way to put it…" He said with a shrug, a frustrated-slash-helpless look on his face.

Jenna smiled sympathetically. "Well, might as well gimme your hat and shirt so I can wash 'em for you."

"Thanks." Glenn said appreciatively, handing over his hat first before yanking off his dirty shirt and passing it over – though Glenn now stood shirtless before her, she didn't nearly react the same way she had when she'd seen _Daryl _shirtless back on the highway. In fact, she remained quite indifferent to it. "I'm gonna go get changed and keep watch." Glenn said, jerking his thumb in the direction he was about to go. "You need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Jenna reassured him with a small, friendly smile.

Glenn nodded. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

As Glenn turned and wandered away, heading toward his canopy, Jenna once again shifted her attention back to what she was doing – it wasn't very long, however, before someone else went hurrying past, making her look up again.

Jenna immediately frowned when she saw that it was Daryl. He didn't even acknowledge her as he strode by with purposeful steps and headed in the direction of his tent, an angry scowl marring his attractive features. She watched, eyebrows furrowed, as he finally ducked into his tent and then roughly zipped it up, shutting himself of from the outside world – she then turned her head to look back at the stables just in time to see Carol slowly make her way back out; even from where she was sitting, Jenna could tell just by her body language that there was something wrong with the older woman.

After wiping her hands dry, Jenna got to her feet and quickly made her way over to Carol – the closer she got, the easier it was to see the upset expression on the woman's pretty features; she looked like she might have even shed a few tears. Jenna didn't know what he had done or said whenever Carol had come to talk to him, but she internally cursed Daryl in her head anyway.

"Carol?" Jenna called as she neared. "You okay?"

Carol wiped the hurt look from her face and tried to force on a smile, but the attempt fell short. "Yeah." She answered as Jenna finally came to a halt in front of her. "I'm fine."

Jenna knew she was lying and frowned in concern. "What happened?" She pried, placing her hands on her hips and shooting Carol a pointed look. "What did he say?"

Carol shook her head. "Nothing…nothing I wasn't asking for." She said slowly.

"Carol…" Jenna prompted.

The older woman finally sighed, allowing her hurt expression to return. "I told him not to go, that he would only hurt himself worse and that he needed time to heal." She started to explain. Jenna nodded, watching her with expectant eyes as she waited for the woman to continue. "Then I…I said that…" Carol sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, as though she were trying to collect herself. "I said that I didn't know if we were gonna find Sophia or not." She finally admitted, making Jenna's eyebrows shoot up in surprise – Carol was starting to lose hope too? But hadn't she just been fighting to keep the search for Sophia going not even a half hour ago? "He got angry, called me a stupid bitch, then left."

Any surprise Jenna felt was quickly overshadowed by burning hot anger. Who did Daryl think he was to talk to Carol in such a way, especially considering how much she was going through right now? Had he lost his _mind_? Jenna shifted on her feet, trying to contain her temper, but after everything that had been going on – between Sophia going missing, her problems with Daryl, Shane being an asshole, the possibility that she'd have to soon choose between her friends and the road to Fort Benning, and now the walkers in Hershel's barn – this news just ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back.

Without a word Jenna swiveled around and started back towards the camp, ignoring Carol when she called after her and pleaded for her to not confront Daryl. She ignored the woman, went breezing past anyone else that tried to stop and talk to her as she reached the camp, then made a bee-line for Daryl's tent with the every intention of finally saying everything she'd been wanting to say to the hard-headed fool for the past few days.

When she reached his tent, she didn't bother pausing to ask for permission to come inside – Jenna simply unzipped the flap and stepped inside uninvited, letting the flap fall closed behind her again. Daryl, who was sitting on his bed, immediately looked up to her in surprise. His expression then darkened when he saw that it was her. "Don't you _knock_?" He asked with a scowl.

Jenna ignored his question and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes glaring daggers at him. "Are you out of your _fucking _mind?" She asked loudly, not really caring if anyone standing nearby heard their argument or not.

Daryl was on his feet in the blink of an eye. "Excuse me?" He snapped, eyes narrowing at her.

"You heard me." Jenna shot back. "Look, I know you've got _issues_ and had it _rough_ growing up and that you're a '_lone wolf', _or whatever bullshit excuse you wanna try to sell to justify being a _complete _dickhead," she continued mockingly, not at all intimidated when his glower worsened, "but that does _not _give you the right to treat everyone around you like dirt beneath your boot."

"What the _hell _did you just – " He started to say, looking beyond infuriated now.

"Shut up – _I'm _talking now, and you're gonna listen whether you like it or not." Jenna snapped harshly, interrupting his biting remark and stunning him into silence. Then she moved forward until they stood only inches apart, that way he could feel the full force of her glare. "You've been a _real _pain in the ass the past few days, Dixon, you know that? Now I'm not stupid – I know it's because of what happened between us." He gaze turned away from hers for a moment when she said this, his teeth grinding together; she couldn't tell if he was agitated or uncomfortable with her blunt statements. "If you wanna be mad about it – because _heaven forbid _anyone show that that they might actually care about you – then that's fine, but take it out on _me_, not Carol."

"I don't have'ta listen to this." Daryl growled out in response before making a move to go past her and leave the tent.

Jenna wasn't about to let him get away that easily. She moved with him to block his path and stopped him with a firm hand on his chest. "I'm not finished!" Jenna said angrily.

"Get your hand _off _of me." Daryl snapped, shoving against her arm and making her drop her hand. He didn't make another attempt to leave, though.

For a second they glared at each other in silence, then Jenna, fuming, spoke again. "Carol is going through a _really _tough time right now." She reminded him. "Her daughter is _missing_ for Christ's sake! The last thing she needs is _you _stomping all over her feelings and calling her a 'stupid bitch' just because you don't know how to cope with your own shit!"

Daryl's glare never dimmed even a fraction. "Did she tell ya what she said back there?" He demanded to know, pointing a finger in the general direction of the stables. "She might as well've told me she thought Sophia was _dead_."

"She's scared!" Jenna retorted. "And she's worried! Her daughter has been out there for four days now – you really think she isn't gonna start to have some doubts?" She shot at him in disbelief – she couldn't believe he was still making excuses, that he refused to own up to the fact that he'd been wrong and made a mistake. "We're supposed to be giving her _hope_, not making her feel worse!"

"It ain't my damn job to coddle grief-stricken women." Daryl snapped back – she couldn't help but feel like his words held a double meaning, and, for some reason, the sharp tone he'd used to deliver them felt like a slap in her face.

Jenna huffed incredulously. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" She told him nastily. When he said nothing in response, just scoffed and rolled his eyes, she pointed a stern finger at him. "You need to make things right between you and Carol." She informed him.

"I don't need to do – " He started to argue back.

"Goddamnit, would you just man up and get the _fuck _over yourself?" Jenna interrupted again, having had enough of Daryl and his attitude. That seemed to strike a nerve, because he scowled and shifted on his feet, his jaw tight with anger. "_Fix _it, Daryl – I mean it."

Having said what she'd come to say, Jenna fixed Daryl with one last disapproving glare before turning and storming out of his tent. She paused just outside when, in an attempt to have the last word, Daryl hollered, "Why don't ya fix your damn _attitude_, red!". Jenna didn't bother to acknowledge his semi-childish remark, though, because as she looked around she quickly realized that their argument had gathered a crowd – T-Dog, Carol, Lori, Carl, and a newly changed Glenn were all standing nearby with varying expressions of concern and confusion on their faces. Before she could be asked any questions, Jenna continued on without saying a word to anyone and went stomping down one of the dirt trails that led away from the camp, wanting a bit of space.

Eventually she came across a small vegetable garden on the far side of the property and decided she'd gone far enough. With a huff she dropped down onto a nearby tree stump before releasing a long, weary sigh, her thoughts immediately turning the argument that had just ensued between herself and Daryl.

She couldn't lie, it had felt _damn _good to get all of that off her chest – Daryl had been acting ridiculous and he'd deserved every bit of what she'd thrown at him. Unfortunately, as everything Jenna had said in the heat of the moment came flooding back to her, she cringed at remembering the cruel things she'd said – throwing his upbringing in his face had been a pretty low blow, and it didn't matter _how _furious he made her, _that_ had been completely uncalled for. Then, as she started to remember some of the _other_ things she'd said to him – namely the fact that she'd all but admitted to his face that she was starting to care about him – Jenna groaned and dropped her face into her hands. She'd had absolutely _no _intentions of ever telling him about the weird, unexpected feelings he was igniting within her, but in her anger and the heat of the moment, the words had come out before she could stop them. She didn't even want to _think _about what kind of backlash she'd face from that admission.

Jenna sighed again before rubbing her face and lifting her head again, becoming lost in her own thoughts as she rested her elbows on the top of her thighs and stared at the barn off in the distance. She wasn't entirely sure how long she sat there for to be honest, just thinking about everything that had been going on for the past week or so and wondering if everything would have been easier if she'd just never joined Rick Grimes and his group in the first place, but after a long while the sound of feet travelling along the dirt path leading to the vegetable garden finally caught her attention. Jenna turned her head to see who was making their way toward her – it was Maggie.

The brunette slowed her pace for a moment or two when she saw that Jenna was present but still continued toward her, looking very guarded. "Morning…" Maggie said, her voice a little stiff.

"Morning." Jenna greeted half-heartedly, watching as the slightly younger woman moved towards a clustering of cornstalks; she noticed Maggie was carrying a basket in her hands. "Sorry I'm in your space, I just…needed a little quiet time." Jenna told her, already getting to her feet. "I can leave if you want..."

Maggie shook her head, making Jenna pause. "It's fine. You can stay if ya want." She said before she started picking corn off the stalks and throwing them into the basket.

Jenna contemplated her options for a moment, then decided she'd rather not go back to camp and face everyone just yet – she instead took a seat on the stump again, ignoring the awkward vibes Maggie was giving off and actually taking a moment to appreciate the pretty garden around her. "This is a nice set-up here." She complimented, trying to break the ice. "My dad would have _killed _for a vegetable garden like this back in the day."

Maggie looked at Jenna over her shoulder, her expression difficult to decipher. "Thanks." She said evenly, her tone giving no hints as to what she was thinking. The brunette then turned back to what she was doing and resumed working in silence – finally, after a long, pregnant stretch of silence, she spoke again. "You gonna ask me about the barn?" Maggie asked in an even voice, keeping her back turned to Jenna the whole time.

Jenna blinked at the blunt question. "Do you _want _me to ask about the barn?" She countered, raising her eyebrows skeptically.

Maggie's body language suggested that she didn't, but she sighed in resignation before shrugging a shoulder. "Figure it'll have'ta be talked about at some point, 'specially if you guys are gonna be stayin' here."

A small frown turned the corners of Jenna's mouth downward. "Rick struck a deal with your dad?" She asked, a little hesitant to actually hear the answer.

Maggie nodded, immediately leaving Jenna with a sinking feeling in her stomach – this was _not _good news for her. "Seems like it. Won't know for sure 'til they get back, though." _Back?, _Jenna wondered to herself, _back from __**where**__? When did they even leave? _But before she had a chance to ask, Maggie turned to face her fully and placed her hands on her hips, squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight as she peered at Jenna. "Look, I'm gonna be honest – I don't want my dad kickin' you guys out. I've seen how dangerous it is, how dangerous the…_walkers…_are." She admitted – saying the word 'walkers' seemed to be a bit of a struggle for her. "Leavin' the farm has death written all over it, or worse, an' that kinda fate is one I wouldn't wish even on my worst enemies." Maggie continued. "So just…leave the barn alone, okay? For all our sake's?"

Jenna held her hands up in surrender. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning anything." She reassured the brunette.

"It's not _you _I'm worried about." Maggie countered pointedly, her expression a serious one.

Jenna had a feeling she knew exactly who Maggie _was _concerned about. He was probably still guarding the barn at that exact moment. "Rick gave us all _very _strict instructions not to mess with the barn. There shouldn't be a problem." She tried again, though even _she _wasn't entirely convinced of that herself. Shane was a hot-head and a loose cannon – lord only knew what he was capable of.

As Maggie nodded slowly and turned back to the corn, looking only somewhat appeased for the moment, Jenna was suddenly struck with a troublesome thought – if Rick was gone, that meant nobody was around to keep an eye on Shane. Temporarily forgetting about Daryl, their argument, and the news that Rick was well on his way to earning a spot for the group on Hershel's land, she cast a wary look in the direction of camp before getting to her feet. This caught Maggie's attention and she cast a curious look at Jenna over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna head back to camp…keep an eye on things." Jenna told her in explanation. _Or keep an eye on __**people**__…_

"Okay." Maggie said. "Here," she continued, gathering up a bushel of corn then walking over to give it to Jenna, "take this back to your group, have it with your dinner or somethin'."

Jenna juggled the vegetables in her arms until she had a good hold on them, then flashed Maggie a quick, grateful smile. "Thanks." Maggie just nodded, and with that Jenna started back in the direction of camp.

* * *

"Hey!" Glenn called in greeting once she came walking back into the boundaries of camp – he was sitting in the chair atop the RV holding a hunting rifle and wearing Dale's hat. "Good to see you back." Then he saw the corn she was holding. "Where'd you get that from?"

"Maggie gave them to me." Jenna answered, stopping by the side of the camper and glancing around for a second – other than Carl and T-Dog, nobody else was in sight.

"Maggie?" Glenn asked, perking up at the name. "You talked to her? How was she? Is she still mad?" He asked rapidly.

"She's not exactly thrilled, Glenn." Jenna told him, finally directing her attention toward him and sending him a pointed look. "But I don't think you've done any permanent damage."

Glenn seemed to be unsure whether this was good news or not. Finally he just let out a heave, turned his eyes away from her as he thought it over, then looked back to her. "You alright?" He asked, scrunching up his nose a bit in concern and changing the subject. "That fight with Daryl sounded pretty…intense."

Jenna sighed before slowly nodding her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told him, moving over to the nearby picnic table to set down the armful of corn. "I just…had a few things I needed to get off my chest."

"Apparently." Glenn agreed, raising his eyebrows at her. Then a thoughtful look passed over his features. "Is it wrong that I'm kind of impressed?" He asked, making her fight to hold back a grin. "I mean, it isn't every day that I hear a chick tell Daryl Dixon to 'man up' and 'get the F over himself'." He told her with a matter-of-fact smirk. "It was pretty awesome."

Jenna could tell that he was trying to make light of the situation and brighten her mood a little, something for which she was very grateful. "Well, I'm glad _you _enjoyed it." She shot at him with a small huff. "I, on the other hand, feel like a grade-A asshole." Jenna went on to admit. "I said some pretty harsh stuff, things that nobody with even an _ounce_ of class would say to another person…even if he _did _deserve it."

Glenn just shrugged. "Hey, it happens – everyone says things they regret in the heat of the moment." He reassured her. "I'm sure he'll get over it."

Jenna seriously doubted that, but didn't voice that concern to Glenn. "Where is everyone?" She finally asked, eyes doing another scan over the camp.

The Asian man reached up to scratch the side of his face pensively. "Uh, Rick left to do something with Hershel a while ago, Carol and Daryl went off somewhere," Jenna tensed at the mention of Daryl again, but hoped that their absence meant he was making it right with Carol, "and I think Andrea's keeping watch over the barn." Glenn listed off. "Hey, did you happen to see Dale while you were gone?" He then asked, frowning at her uncertainly. "He just kinda disappeared on me earlier and I haven't seen him since."

Jenna frowned and shook her head. "No, I haven't." Why did she suddenly have a bad feeling? "Where's Shane?" She asked, disturbed by the fact that she couldn't see him anywhere in the near vicinity.

"Oh, he went looking for Dale." Glenn answered nonchalantly.

That immediately caught Jenna's attention. "What?" She asked apprehensively, turning to face Glenn and raising her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him. Dale was off somewhere by _himself _and _Shane _was the one in pursuit? That _couldn't _be a good thing.

"Shane." Glenn stated, looking a bit confused as to why she hadn't understood him the first time. "He was looking for something in the camper and when he couldn't find it, he went looking for Dale." He repeated himself. When Jenna cursed under her breath, not entirely sure what was going on but knowing this probably meant something _bad_, Glenn's eyebrows came together uncertainly. "…is that not good?" He asked warily. "Because he was acting kinda weird and he – "

"When did he leave?" Jenna interrupted, her concern for Dale's safety starting to grow.

Glenn seemed a bit taken aback. "I dunno…fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago?"

"Which direction?" She then demanded to know – there was no way she was going to leave Dale to face Shane on his own, especially not after the previous night and everything he'd told her about the man and his threats.

When Glenn finally pointed toward the stretching field on the other side of the RV, Jenna nodded and then turned to head into the RV, not about to go anywhere near the forest without protection. But to her surprise, once she was in the camper she didn't spot the bag of guns that Dale had been keeping tucked away inside – she _did,_ however, see that the place looked to have been recently searched. She frowned to herself, quickly putting the pieces of the puzzle together – Dale and the guns were missing, the camper looked to have been ransacked, Shane had been looking for something, and now he was off looking for _Dale_. The only logical explanation seemed to be that Dale had gone off with the guns and now Shane was trying to find them.

Jenna cursed, hurried back out of the camper, and looked back up at Glenn. "Can I borrow your gun?" She asked.

"What?" Glenn asked in surprise. "But why do – "

"Glenn, give me your gun." She instructed sternly. "Or would you rather I go out there with only my hopes and dreams to protect myself with?" She then shot at him

Glenn still seemed a little hesitant (and a _lot _confused), but then he finally got up from his seat and went to the edge of the RV, extending the gun toward her. Jenna grabbed it, said a quick thank you, and then without another word to Glenn started off in the direction he'd indicated. Glenn called after her, sounding worried and confused as to what was going on, but she didn't have time to stop and explain – Dale was out there somewhere being pursued by Shane. She _had _to find him before something went awry.

* * *

For nearly thirty minutes she scoured almost every inch of that field, looking for any signs that Shane or Dale had been through the area and leaving no stones unturned as she tried desperately to figure out where the men had gone. She was so far away from Hershel's house by now that it was just a white blob in the distance, but Jenna kept going, growing more and more certain with each passing moment that she'd eventually have to suck it up and start searching the _forest_ instead – this worried her, of course, because she didn't like the thought of going in there by herself and, seeing as she had a questionable sense of direction, she was afraid she'd just end up getting herself lost. But the more she thought about it the more it seemed the only possible place they could have gone.

Jenna was just poking around what looked to be the former site of a house or a cabin – the only remains was a stone fireplace and half-destroyed chimney, which looked very old and weathered – when the snap of a twig nearby caught her attention. The redhead whipped around, the rifle in her hands already aimed and at the ready, her initial fear (as always) being that the sound had been produced by a walker – only seconds later, however, a tall, muscular, nearly-bald man stepped into view, making her spine stiffen. When she saw that he was carrying a large black bag full of the group's firearms, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

The instant Shane spotted her he skidded to a halt, eyebrows raising when he saw the gun pointed at him. Jenna lowered her weapon, but didn't dare turn her eyes away from him for even a second.

"What're you doin' out here?" Shane asked suspiciously, looking around for a moment to see if anyone else had come along with her.

"Looking for you and Dale." Jenna answered steadily. Her eyes turned towards the trees in expectation, hoping the older man would appear, but he didn't. "Where is he?"

Shane just snorted at her. "What are you, his guard dog?" He asked snidely.

The jibe grated her nerves, but she chose not to respond to it. "Shane, tell me where Dale is." She insisted in a no-nonsense tone.

Shane gave her a menacing once over as though he were sizing her up, then smirked at her arrogantly "You wanna find Dale?" He asked condescendingly. "Then go look for 'im yourself."

He started to walk away after that, but Jenna quickly hurried to catch up to him and planted herself in his path. Shane heaved in annoyance and shifted on his feet, then looked down at her with annoyance plain as day on his features. "I see you've got all our guns." Jenna commented, which made one of Shane's eyebrows lift upward. "And I really hope you're not planning to do what I _think _you are…"

Shane narrowed his eyes at her, silence falling between them for a few long, uncomfortable seconds. "I know you an' Dale talk." He suddenly told her in a low voice, his gaze intense. "An' I've seen the way you been lookin' at me lately – I don't like it very much."

Jenna pressed her lips together and jutted her chin into the air. "Well, Shane, as long as we're being _honest_, I don't really like the way you've been acting." She rebutted in a calm voice. "And I also think you're going about all if this the wrong way."

"All of _what _exactly?" Shane asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Sophia, for starters." Jenna told him swiftly. "Then there's Dale, and the barn, and _this_ – " She listed off, gesturing to the bag of guns.

Shane snorted. "Are you _seriously _gonna tell me you're alright with livin' next to a barn full'a walkers?" He asked in incredulous disbelief. "Or are you really _that _determined to disagree with me?"

_Another_ argument with _another_ hot-headed man was the last thing that Jenna wanted right then, but he was really beginning to try her patience. "I never said that." She snapped. "As far as I'm concerned, the only good walker is a _dead _walker…but as much as you don't wanna believe it, Rick's right. This isn't our land and that _isn't _our – "

"Look, why don't ya save that lecture for someone that wants'ta hear it?" Shane interrupted with a rude scoff, making her fall silent and glare at him with growing anger. "Just go find your new best friend an' leave me be." He then suggested before brushing past her. "I got business 'ta take care of."

"He was hiding the guns, right?" Jenna called after him, making Shane pause again. "That's why Dale came out here – he knew what you were gonna do." Shane turned a look on her over his shoulder, the gleam in his eyes one of irritation. "How'd you get Dale to hand them over?" She then asked, her tone full of accusation.

"I didn't do anything to 'im, if that's what you're gettin' at." Shane answered shortly.

The words came tumbling out before she could stop them. "Well, you've killed _before,_ haven't you? Who's to say you wouldn't do it again?"

Jenna regretted it as soon as she said it, even more so when Shane visibly stiffened and then slowly turned around to fully face her again, his expression a mixture of incredulity and fury. There was no taking it back now, though, the accusation was out there whether she liked it or not – and the look he gave her made the temperature around them drop about twenty degrees. "Is that what _he _told you?" He asked evenly, eyes never turning away from her.

"He didn't have to." Jenna replied, trying to keep her cool. "It wasn't hard to figure out once I heard all the details from that night."

Shane sneered. "Well, ain't _you_ just the sharpest tool in the shed…" He taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You know what's funny? For someone that didn't want anything 'ta do with the group ya sure didn't waste any time throwin' yourself right into the middle of everyone else's business." He shot at her nastily. "If I were you, I'd stop stickin' my nose where it didn't belong…ya might not like what happens if ya don't."

"Is that a threat?" Jenna asked, eyes narrowing a bit.

Shane smirked and shrugged. "Take it however ya want to." And then he turned and headed away.

Jenna stared after him for a long moment, glanced at the nearby forest, then turned her gaze back over to Shane – what was she supposed to do _now_? Shane had the guns and was very determinedly heading back for camp, which could only mean that he planned to rally up the group and take out the walkers in the barn; he needed to be stopped before things got out of hand. But Dale still hadn't reemerged from the forest and there was no telling what Shane had done to get his hands on the guns, which meant the meddling older man might need her help. Jenna contemplated her options for another second or two, watching as Shane grew smaller and smaller into the distance, until her concern for Dale finally won out – she turned and headed into the forest.

"Dale?" She called out as loud as she dared to, searching the trees around her with wide, alert eyes. "Dale?" Jenna tried again, this time a tick louder – no response.

With a frown of concern, Jenna tightened her grip on the hunting rifle and started making her way deeper into the forest, periodically calling out Dale's name – she paused after a handful of minutes had ticked by and heaved, her uneasiness with the situation beginning to grow. What if Dale was seriously injured? What if he couldn't call out to her? What if she couldn't find him?

"Dale?" She called out meekly, her hope beginning to diminish as her concern increased tenfold. This wasn't good, not at all. And the longer it took her to find Dale the more time Shane had to do some _serious _damage to that barn. If only Rick were there, if only she had told Glenn what was going on so she could –

"Jenna?"

Her internal ramblings came to an abrupt halt and Jenna whipped around at the voice, letting out a massive sigh of relief when Dale stepped into view – he looked upset and a little shaken, but otherwise unhurt. "Dale! Thank god!" She gushed out, hurrying over to his side. "Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, giving him another once over to ensure that there were no hidden injuries on his person.

"I'm fine." Dale reassured her, holding a hand up to silence her. "Shane found me trying to hide the guns, demanded I give them to him." He went on to explain, a troubled expression on his face. "He gave me an ultimatum – give 'im the guns or kill 'im to keep him away from them…and..." Dale shook his head. "…and I just couldn't do that." He finally said in a firm voice. "_Shane _might be that kind of man, but _I'm _not. And I refuse to stoop to his level."

Jenna nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright." She told him earnestly. "Glenn told me you'd disappeared and that Shane went after you. And then I saw Shane with those guns and I thought – "

_BANG_ _BANG BANG._

Jenna and Dale both froze when three rapidly fired gunshots suddenly echoed off in the distance, then they turned wide eyes on each other. "Shane…" She said, her voice filled with trepidation. _BANG BANG_ – more gunshots. "He's taking out the walkers in the barn." Jenna added with a shake of her head, just before three more loud _BANGS _sounded again. "Dale, someone has to stop him before this gets any worse."

"Go." Dale suddenly urged. "Go, now! I'll catch up." Jenna nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when Dale called out to her again. "Jenna!" She glanced back at him questioningly. "Keep that rifle with you…and be careful."

And as one last loud gunshot sounded in the air, Jenna nodded before finally turning to leave.

She'd never run so fast in her entire life. Her legs burned as she hightailed it out of the forest and started racing across the field, her heart pounded against her ribs when she reached the fence and practically leapt over it in her hurry. Once on the gravel path that would lead her to the barn, she pushed herself even harder – she only faltered when her ears were suddenly met with the sound of numerous guns being fired all at once, signaling to her that the rest of the group had rallied with Shane and were now helping him take out the walkers, but Jenna quickly collected herself and forced her feet forward even faster.

She finally reached the end of the dirt path, but Jenna already knew that she was far too late. Everyone else – Rick, Hershel, and Hershel's people included – were all in front of the barn, most of the chains and planks that had been keeping the barn secure were no longer intact, and walkers were spilling out through the doors so constantly that it seemed there was no end to them. Jenna ran past a horrified Carol, past Beth and Patricia and Jimmy as they clung to each other and helplessly watched the scene unfold, then finally skidded to a halt next to Rick, panting hard as she tried to catch her breath and watching with horror as Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn, Shane, and Andrea finished off the last wave of walkers to come stumbling out of the barn – _BANG, BANG, BANG_, _BANG._

After the last walker fell dead to the ground, an eerie silence followed. Jenna's eyes took in the sight of all the dead, decaying corpses strewn in front of the barn, her heart thudding against her ribs, before she turned to look at Rick – he was staring unblinking at the ghastly scene before them, his expression that of stunned disbelief as he heaved for air. There was such a look of defeat on his face, of waning hope now that Shane had undoubtedly just obliterated any chances for the group to stay on Hershel's land, that it made Jenna's heart swell with sympathy – without a word and without really even thinking about what she was doing, she reached out and placed a hand on Rick's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, trying anything to offer him support and make that heartbreaking expression leave his features. The touch made him turned his eyes over to her, and he looked back at her with a hopeless gleam in his blue eyes before dropping his head in defeat.

It was then, as they let what had just happened soak in and as Hershel and his family cried for the ones they had lost, that another sound reached their ears – it was the sound of another walker starting to make its way out of the barn. Everyone stiffened as the groaning reached their ears and the firing squad in front of the barn raised their weapons in anticipation, ready to jump into action again…

But when the figure of a small, young, _familiar_ zombie suddenly emerged from the barn, recoiling in the sunlight before snarling hungrily at them, it felt like someone had socked Jenna right in the gut. "Oh my god…" She murmured.

"Sophia?" Carol suddenly cried, already breaking down in sobs as she raced toward the barn. "Sophia!"

Jenna almost called out for someone to stop her, but her throat was suddenly so tight that she couldn't get the words out – luckily Daryl had the good sense to catch the distraught woman before she could go any further, and the two collapsed on the ground.

She watched them for a split second before turning her eyes back to the young girl they'd been trying so desperately to find, feeling like her heart had launched up into her throat and that she might be sick. They'd been looking for Sophia for days, had risked their lives countless time in the hopes that they would find her alive and well…and she'd been _here_, a _zombie_ and in _this barn_, the entire time. Jenna didn't even realize she was on the verge of crying until she blinked and a large tear went rolling down her cheek. And as Sophia – now a walker – started making her way towards the group, teeth gnashing with hunger, she had to turn her gaze away, unable to stand the sight.

How was this fair? How could this have happened to an innocent little girl? What the hell kind of world _was _this where the young and innocent perished and the vile asshole prevailed? What hope was there when things like _this _happened?

The angry questions swirled around her mind as more tears slid down her cheeks, but they came to an abrupt halt when Rick suddenly reached up to gently remove her hand from his shoulder. Jenna looked over at him, letting her hand fall back down to her side, and for a brief moment they held each other's gazes – Jenna read the look in his gaze easily and instantly knew what he was about to do. She watched Rick go as he started weaving his way to the front of the group with determined steps before shifting her eyes in the direction of Maggie, who was standing only a foot or so away and consoling her father – the brunette, stricken by the turn of events and crying a steady stream of tears, slowly and wordlessly met her stare; Jenna shook her head, a sad expression on her face, silently trying to tell the younger woman that she was sorry for the way things had gone down. Maggie just stared at her for a long moment and then shifted her gaze elsewhere.

When Jenna focused on what was happening again, she saw that Rick had come to a halt some five feet in front of Sophia and pulled his pistol from its holster. It felt like time had slowed down, like they'd been thrown into an alternate universe. This _wasn't _the way it was supposed to end – they were supposed to find Sophia alive, maybe tucked in a tree house or something of that sort and living off of berries as she waited for the group to locate her…she wasn't supposed to have that angry bite mark on her neck, she wasn't supposed to be in the barn with the other walkers, and she _wasn't _supposed to be a walker herself.

Jenna finally closed her eyes, unable to watch what was about to happen as Rick raised his gun and aimed it at Sophia's head. Then, as she listened to the sounds of Carol's hysterical sobs, one last gunshot rang through the air, followed by the thud of Sophia's lifeless body falling to the ground.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Just a heads up – the next few chapters will definitely have some good ol' fashioned angst. Can we say drama, drama, drama?!**

**And OH MY GOD you guys – I have so many new favorites/followers after that last chapter. You have no idea how happy that makes me! I've been on cloud nine all week! Thank you so much! Can we get past 100 reviews with this update?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The Walking Dead.**

* * *

_Chapter 17_

Jenna sat on the hard ground with her back against the trunk of a tree, knees pulled into her chest as she stared without really seeing out at the picturesque scenery surrounding Hershel's house. There was a nice, cool breeze blowing through her hair and the making the windmill off in the distance whirl around, and at any other time the gentle wind and the pretty view might have calmed her, brought her some sort of contentedness…but after everything that had happened that day, there was simply too much sadness in her heart to feel any sort of joy at that particular moment.

Sophia, the shy, sweet little girl that Jenna wished she had gotten to know better, was dead.

Everything that the group had done – all of the danger they had faced, all the injuries they had sustained, all of the days spent determinedly combing the woods – had been in vain. Because the girl they had been desperately searching for had died a long time ago, had become one of those _things_…had become a walker. Sophia, who had been only twelve years old, would never grow up. She would never have the chance to become a woman, would never have a chance to come into her own or grow into a strong survivor, would never even have a chance to find love or have children or anything of that sort…if things like that were even obtainable in this world anymore. No, now Sophia was just a memory, an innocent child that had been taken far too early – she had been reduced to nothing but another lifeless body strewn in front of Hershel Greene's barn with a raggedy old blanket covering her decaying form.

Jenna sucked in a shaky breath and let her forehead fall down onto the tops of her knees, unable to stop the tears that seeped from the corners of her eyes and went sliding down her cheeks.

Even though she hadn't known Sophia well, that didn't lessen the blow her death dealt to her already fragile heart. Losing a member of the group was never an easy thing – Jenna had lost enough people by now to know how painful it could be – but it had been so long since she had actually _seen _someone she knew fall victim to this wretched apocalypse that the harsh reminder of her _own _mortality and of how cruel and unforgiving this world truly was came crashing into her like a wrecking ball. And Sophia had been so _young_. Jenna had seen a lot of disturbing things over the course of the past few months, but never once had she seen a child turn into one of the chompers. It was just so completely and unbelievably wrong that it was making all of her fears and doubts, which had somewhat retreated to the back of her mind after joining the group, surge forth with a vengeance. And her hope for a better life – for a better _world_ – was rapidly beginning to diminish.

Jenna cried a little harder, her shoulders shaking as she wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged herself, trying to find some sense of comfort. It was impossible. All she could see was Sophia's snarling face, the bloody bite mark on her neck, her sallow, decaying skin…

She was so caught up in her grief that she didn't even realize someone was nearing her spot until they were right in front of her. Jenna lifted her tear-stained face from her knees, seeing a pair of boots in front of her first, then lifted her eyes a little further upward until she could meet the blue eyed gaze of Rick Grimes. He was staring down at her with a mixture of grief and guilt on his features – even though he'd obviously already seen that she was crying, Jenna hastily wiped her cheeks to rid them of any lingering tear tracks.

"Hey." She said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Hey." Rick echoed in a dull tone. "You mind?" He asked, gesturing to the empty spot of ground next to her.

Jenna shook her head, then watched as Rick slowly deposited himself on the ground next to her. With a heavy sigh he leaned back against the same tree she was resting against before reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, looking very much like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Jenna frowned at him sympathetically in spite of her own heartache, knowing exactly what he was feeling because she was pretty sure it was what the entire _group _was going through right then – Rick finally ran a weary hand over his face, glanced over at her, then let his eyes turn out to the scenery.

"There's gonna be a service for Sophia, Annette, and Shawn." He told her, his voice devoid of much emotion. "The others are diggin' graves right now."

Jenna nodded, unsurprised with the news, then followed his suit and turned her gaze back to the windmill in the distance. A few beats of silence passed between them before she asked, "This sure did turn out to be a shitty day, huh?" Her tone was full of sadness as she rested her head back against the tree trunk. When Rick's shoulders sagged and he silently nodded in response, Jenna felt another wave of empathy crash over her. "I'm sorry about Sophia." She told him, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

Rick looked over at her – his eyes were clouded over with despair and regret and self-loathing. "Me too."

Silence fell between them for a couple of moment. "What happened back there?" Jenna finally asked, letting her eyes drift back over to Rick.

"Shane…" Rick started, shaking his head. "He got the guns, rallied up the group…" He began to explain – Jenna listened intently even though this was the part that she already knew about. "I was finally startin'ta make progress with Hershel, had almost managed to convince 'im 'ta let the group stay on the farm." Rick continued. "He asked for my help puttin' some stray walkers in the barn, 'ta see if I could…_change my ways_…" Jenna pressed her lips together tightly at hearing that – it was only then that she remembered seeing a few walkers that had been attached to restraint poles; the thought of handling zombies like they were stray dogs left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Shane saw us comin' with the walkers an' just…_lost _it." Rick shook his head again. "There was no stoppin' 'im."

Jenna shook her head with a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair. She almost had half a mind to tell him about her growing concerns regarding the dangerous, hot-headed, and unpredictable Shane, but knew that it wasn't the right time and that it would probably only bring to light a slew of problems that Rick more-than-likely wasn't ready to deal with yet. So, instead, she asked, "Did Hershel know? You know…that Sophia was in the barn?"

"He said 'e didn't." He answered, though he didn't look entirely convinced whether this was the truth or not. "Shane thinks he's lyin', but I dunno…" He trailed off and shrugged. "Guess it doesn't really matter now."

Jenna nodded her understanding, then silence passed between them for a long few minutes. She let her eyes drift around again as she and Rick sat there, watching as the others dug graves off in the distance. She felt a pang in her heart, making her sigh sadly.

"Losing people never gets easier…does it?" She asked, still watching the others work. "After everything that's happened – watching the world turn to shit, knowing everyone I've ever known is dead or a zombie, losing my _family –_ I honestly didn't think I was capable of feeling grief or sadness anymore." She admitted. "How could I when my heart was already so broken and battered?" Jenna finally turned her eyes over to Rick, allowing him to see how weak and vulnerable she was feeling at that exact moment. "But you know what? I _do _feel it, Rick. And it terrifies me as much as it hurts me."

This was the first time she'd admitted her fears out loud to another person – her decision to stay away from people before meeting the group wasn't just because of lack of trust, but also out of the fear of meeting people she might _actually_ care for. Putting herself out there and allowing people into her heart also meant that she could be setting herself up for pain and despair. In this new post-apocalyptic world, danger and death lurked around every corner; every meal, every sunset, every conversation had the potential to be your last. She'd already suffered so much and experienced such harsh emotional pain from losing her former group that she had refused to put herself through that again – but then these people had taken her in, accepted her, and made her start caring again. And now that one of them had been seized by the icy hands of death, all of her fears were coming back to haunt her and that hurt she'd tried so hard to avoid was starting to crack what was left of her already damaged heart.

Rick stared at her in silence for a long few seconds before reaching over to place a hand on her shoulder, much like she had done while they had been standing in front of the barn watching the madness from earlier unfold. "That just means ya care about the people around ya, Jenna." He told her, squeezing her shoulder for good measure. "An' there's nothin' wrong with that. In fact, this world needs _more_'a that."

Jenna steadily met his stare for a second before sighing and turning her eyes away. She wasn't so convinced that caring _was _a good thing, but she didn't have the heart to tell Rick that.

Rick dropped his hand from her shoulder after that and their conversation lulled, both of them merely sitting silently in each other's company as they became lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, though, they both noticed that Lori was slowly making her way over to them.

"There you two are." She said, a solemn expression etched onto her pretty face as she came to a halt a few feet away from them. "They're ready." She then announced, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Rick nodded in response and slowly got back to his feet before turning to extend a hand down to Jenna. She looked at his hand for a brief moment before taking it and allowing him to help her up to her feet – they shared a look for a moment, one that was filled with sadness but also support, before he patted her on the shoulder and started in the direction of Hershel's house, announcing he would be the one to collect the Greene family. Jenna turned to Lori, who flashed a small, sad smile before moving to the redhead's side and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"You okay?" Jenna was far from okay, but she still nodded her head in answer. Lori stared at her for a second before nodding, squeezing her in a one armed hug, and releasing her. "I'm gonna go get Carl. I'll see you down there, alright?"

Again Jenna nodded, then watched as Lori headed back in the direction of camp to collect her son.

With a deep intake of breath, Jenna finally forced her feet forward and started back down the trail that led to the barn, crossing her arms over her chest in the hope that it would shield her from the cold feelings of despair trying to consume her– it didn't help.

She trudged along, eyes downcast and heart feeling as heavy as an anvil, until a blip of color on the right hand side of the trail caught her attention. Jenna paused by a cluster of bright yellow flowers, staring at them for only a second before stooping down to start picking them out of the ground. Once she had a decent amount of flowers gripped in her hand, she straightened up again and resumed her trek down the trail.

After she reached the end of the dirt path and stepped through the open gate that lead to the barn, she hesitated and eyed the bodies still strewn across the ground – they were the ones that wouldn't be getting buried and she briefly wondered what the group planned to do with the bodies. With a sigh, she continued toward a cluster of trees some thirty yards away from the barn, where T-Dog, Andrea, Shane, and Jimmy had already finished digging the graves and were slowly, carefully beginning to lower the bodies of Sophia, Annette (Hershel's wife) and Shawn (Hershel's step-son) into the ground. Her eyes almost immediately locked onto Sophia's small, fragile, blanket-covered form as T-Dog and Andrea lowered her down into the grave – emotion welled up within her again, but she pressed her lips together, resisting the urge to shed more tears.

Once Sophia was in her resting place and T-Dog and Andrea had climbed out of her grave, Jenna wordlessly stepped forward, hesitating by the side of the grave for only a second before gently lowering herself down into it with the flowers still in hand. The others paused, watching in silence as she separated a small handful of flowers from the rest of the bouquet in her hand and then crouched down next to Sophia's body, placing them atop the blanket still covering her form. Jenna then laid a gentle hand on top of Sophia's covered head, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Sophia." She whispered. "I wish we could have done more."

She lingered for one more second then finally opened her eyes again. The others were still watching her but she ignored their stares and got to her feet to climb back out of the grave. T-Dog moved forward to offer her a helping hand, which she gratefully took, and it was as he was pulling her back up that Jenna noticed Daryl standing off to the side under the cover of the trees, his eyes trained intently on her.

Though they had been at each other's throats only hours ago, Jenna found that she no longer felt any anger toward him – after everything that had happened, after finding out that Sophia had been dead this entire time, her petty problems with him suddenly seemed so unimportant and insignificant. Jenna had no idea what was in store for herself and the group after the day's events, but she decided right then and there that she would try to make things right between them if she could; things were hard enough as it was. Continuing to be on the outs with Daryl would solve nothing, nor would it make anything easier.

Jenna turned her eyes away from Daryl's and moved to Shawn and Annette's graves next, distributing the rest of the flowers between the two and placing them on top of their lifeless forms much like she had done for Sophia. Once finished she received a small, approving smile from Andrea and an appreciative nod from Jimmy – she returned the gestures to each, then went to stand off to the side to wait for the others to arrive. Jenna felt Shane's eyes on her but she diligently ignored his stare, refusing to meet his gaze.

Eventually everyone else began to filter down to the grave site. Glenn and Dale came down from the house first, looking somber as they took their places in front of the graves and took in the sight with sad eyes – after a few moments Dale came to stand next to Jenna, patting her on the back in a fatherly way and pulling a half-hearted smile from her. Next were Beth and Maggie, the two sisters holding each other and looking puffy eyed as they silently joined the group. Rick, Lori, and Carl were next to arrive, and then, finally, Hershel came walking towards the graves with Patricia on his arm. Jenna straightened up some when the older man came into view and watched as he went to stand directly in front of his wife's grave – he didn't make eye-contact with any of the people around him, merely took hold of the bible that he'd brought with him and silently started flipping through the pages.

It was only then that Jenna realized she couldn't see Carol anywhere. She glanced around for a second, craning her neck and peering around the group, thinking that maybe she was just hidden from sight by one of the bigger, taller men, but after a few more seconds of searching she gathered that the grieving mother wasn't present. Jenna frowned and glanced in the direction of camp, but quickly turned her attention back to the service when Hershel began to speak.

"Oscar Wilde once wrote, '_Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace'._" Hershel paused and let the words hang in the air for a moment, allowing everyone to mull over that quote – it seemed fitting given their surroundings and the circumstances surrounding the deaths. "Today, we lay three loved ones to finally be at rest…to be at peace." He continued – he still would not meet the gazes of those around him, and it was evident by the expression on his face that he was distraught. "Annette, Shawn, and Sophia…they were loved, they were cherished…but now they have left this life and their loved ones behind. Theirs were lives cut short by this new, cruel world we find ourselves in, but their souls, their precious, unhindered souls, have ascended up into the heavens as so many before them have, to the safety and protection of our lord God. It is there that they finally find _true _peace, and it is there that they will wait for us."

Hershel suddenly stopped for a moment and had to clear his throat, looking rather choked up. Maggie reached over to rub a soothing hand over his back, offering comfort he so obviously needed. Finally, he collected himself again and turned his eyes down to the bible in his hands.

"'_Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal'._"

Hershel closed his bible after that and tucked it underneath his arm before clasping his hands together in front of him. It was obvious that he had finished saying what he wanted to say, so, after receiving a single nod from Rick, several of the men moved forward to begin filling the graves. Jenna watched in silence, her mind turning back to when she had attended her own father's funeral at the tender age of fourteen and watched as he was laid to rest – she and Sam had clung to each other like their lives depended on it the entire service. Quite suddenly, Jenna was filled with an earnest longing to have Sam by her side offering the strong support that she knew she could always count on him to give her.

It took a good few minutes, but the men finally finished filling the graves and then retook their places amongst the group. There was a long, respectful moment of silence where everyone took a minute to reflect on what had happened and say their own internal goodbyes, until the short service reached it's conclusion and, one by one, everyone finally started to break away and go in their own direction – Jenna lingered behind for only a second to stare at the three graves one last time.

_Goodbye, Sophia, _she mentally said in farewell. Then, after Dale placed a gentle hand on her back, the two turned to trail after the rest of the group and leave the three graves behind.

* * *

Jenna was rifling through a bag in her tent, searching for gloves so that she could go help clear away the dead walkers in front of the barn – _anything _to keep her mind busy – when the flap to her tent opened to reveal Dale. "Knock, knock." He said before motioning toward the inside of her tent with his free hand. "Mind if I come in?"

Jenna shook her head. "Go ahead." She said before turning back to her bag and resuming her search.

Dale walked inside, letting the flap fall closed behind him. He came to stand next to her and it was then that she noticed a familiar black bag dangling from his shoulder – she didn't know how he'd obtained the cursed bag again, but didn't bother asking him about it. "Here." He said, opening the bag and fishing around for a second before starting to pull out the firearms that belonged to Jenna. "You can have these back." He said, passing them over one by one.

Jenna accepted the handguns first, eyeing them for a moment before turning a look on Dale. "Guess the 'no carry' rule went out the window, huh?" She asked dully, sliding one of the handguns into the waistband of her pants but putting the other in her bag.

Dale handed over her double-barrel next with raised eyebrows. "More like I'd rather return these to their rightful owners and keep them _out _of the hands of others." He told her bluntly – Jenna reached out to accept the gun, shared a look with Dale, then nodded as she placed the shotgun on the ground next to her.

After that Dale made his way closer to the wall of her tent and peered out through the sheer part, watching the others as they worked to clear out the walkers by the barn for a moment or two. Jenna finally located the gloves she'd been looking for and pulled them out before standing to her full height. When she did this, Dale turned back to her with a serious expression on his face.

"We need to talk to Rick."

Jenna frowned, fiddling with the gloves in her hands as she met Dale's stare. "Talk to Rick about _what _exactly?" She asked, even though she was already fairly sure she knew exactly what Dale was talking about.

"Shane." Dale answered simply.

Jenna sighed and shifted on her feet. "Dale, I don't really think now's the time." She told him pointedly. "It's been a rough day for everyone, okay? Telling Rick about all of our crazy theories is only gonna make things worse."

Dale bristled a bit. "_Crazy theories_?" He echoed in disbelief. "There's nothing crazy about it, nor are these _theories_ – I know you know that now, otherwise you wouldn't have chased after me and Shane today and you wouldn't have been so worried about my safety." He shot back at her. Jenna pressed her lips together and turned her gaze elsewhere – he had her there. "You _know _Shane is dangerous, and he's getting more out of control each day. We can't continue to sit idly by anymore, not after this."

Jenna met Dale's stern stare again and raised her eyebrows. "And what do you think is gonna happen when we tell Rick we think his best friend is a cold blooded murderer, huh?" She asked him. "How do you think he's gonna react to something like that right now?"

"Jenna, it doesn't matter _when _we tell him – Rick isn't gonna like it either way." He countered swiftly. "But he _needs _to know before somethin' like this happens again." Dale argued, firmly standing his ground. "He's the only one that has any hope of containing him."

Jenna held a hand up to silence him. She really didn't have the mental capacity for a conversation like this, nor was she in the mood to help Dale turn Rick against his right hand man. Not today, not after the morning the group had had. "I'm telling you, _leave it alone_." She said in a firm voice. "Give it a little time, let things settle down a bit…" Jenna continued, trying to reason with the older man. "Rick has enough on his plate already."

Dale heaved and shook his head. "Fine." He huffed, though he didn't look happy about it. Then he turned to leave. "I'm gonna see if the others need help down by the barn..." He announced brusquely in departure, a deep frown of consternation on his aged face as he roughly pushed the flap out of the way and then stepped out of her tent.

Jenna heaved and ran a frustrated hand over her face as Dale left. _Great,_ she thought to herself cynically, _As if things aren't crappy enough already, now Dale's mad at me_. Jenna shook her head in resignation, slapped the gloves she was holding against the palm of her free hand a few times, then pushed her way out of her tent. This terrible day was turning out to be one for the record books – she couldn't help but wonder what _else _was going to go wrong.

She started to make her way out of camp but paused just as she was about to go walking past the RV. She hadn't had a chance – or the heart – to check in on Carol yet.

With a sigh Jenna changed directions and started for Dale's camper instead, hesitating outside the open door when she reached it. She wrapped her knuckles against the side of the RV two tentative times. "Carol?" She called out in a soft voice, not sure what the woman was doing but also not wanting to disturb her if she was resting. When she didn't receive an answer, Jenna took slow, quiet steps into the RV, just to have a look around and make sure Carol was at least alright.

The inside of the camper was silent, though, and she didn't see the older woman anywhere.

With a frown, she called out Carol's name one more searching time and stepped a little further into the camper, checking out the back and the small, cramped bathroom – empty. Jenna stepped back out of the RV and took a long look around, raising a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, but there was no sign of the grieving mother anywhere. With a sigh, Jenna let her hand drop back down to her side – it was a little disconcerting to know that Carol had gone off somewhere – and probably on her _own_ – but she supposed that if _she _had been in her shoes, she would have wanted a little solitude as well; it didn't sit very well with her, but Jenna decided not to go and look for her.

"Who are you lookin' for?"

Jenna turned at the sound of Carl's voice and saw that he had just emerged from the large tent that he shared with his parents. After the day's events she would have expected the young boy to look upset, maybe even distraught – it couldn't have been easy for Carl to see his friend turned into a zombie, nor to see her get shot. But Carl seemed cool as a cucumber and was looking to her with nothing but curiosity on his young face.

"I was looking for Carol." She said, walking towards him. "You didn't happen to see her anywhere did you?" When Carl shrugged and shook his head, Jenna sighed and placed her hands on her hips. She then squinted down at him, eyeing him with a hint of scrutiny. "How you holdin' up?" She asked gently.

Carl's face fell a bit, and again he shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess." He answered, looking down at his shoes for a moment as he scuffed them in the dirt a bit. "I feel bad about Sophia…but I guess it's better that we know, right?"

Jenna thought about that for a second then slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess." She agreed half-heartedly.

A noise from the house caught her attention, and she turned in time to see that Hershel had just walked outside and was making his way toward a red truck not far from the group's camp. Jenna's eyes followed the older man and she pursed her lips uncertainly, watching as he neared the vehicle – even from where she was standing she could see how upset he still was. "Carl, you wait here, okay?" Jenna instructed the boy, eyes never leaving Hershel.

"Okay…" Carl said uncertainly.

With that Jenna went jogging toward the truck. Hershel had already gotten into the driver's seat and was starting the engine by the time she was within his hearing range. "Hershel!" She called out to catch his attention, waving him down with the gloves she was still holding. He paused and turned his eyes over to her, staring at her through the open window of the driver's side door with a blank expression on his face. Jenna came to a halt by the side of the truck, suddenly feeling awkward now that it was just her and Hershel – they hadn't spoken to each other much since the day he'd stitched her leg.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently when she took too long to say something.

Jenna shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "It's probably none of my business…" She started. "But can I ask where you're going?"

Hershel's expression, if possible, went flatter. "Away from here – away from you people." He told her in a cold voice. Jenna pressed her lips together, feeling even more awkward now – he'd practically spat the words 'you people' at her, as though the words were a curse. "Is that alright with _you_?"

It was impossible to overlook the condescending tone in his voice, but Jenna knew he was just hurting and didn't take offence to it. "It's dangerous out there." She told him in a small voice. "You shouldn't leave the farm by yourself."

If he was touched by her concern to any degree, he didn't show it. "I'll be fine."

Hershel then put the truck in reverse and twisted around in his seat, starting to back away, but Jenna locked a hand on the door and moved with him. He pressed on the brakes and turned back to her, an irritable expression appearing on his face. "This probably isn't what you wanna hear right now, but I'm sorry for your family. I – that is, _we_ _all _– know what you're going through. We've all lost family and it isn't easy." She told him, hoping he saw the sincerity in her eyes. Hershel's expression softened the tiniest degree, but he said nothing in response. With a sigh, Jenna finally released her hold on the truck to pull her gun from the waistband of her pants, offering it to him handle first. "I can't stop you from leaving if you wanna go, but at least take this with you." She urged. "You never know when you'll need it."

He eyed the gun with open distaste, almost looking offended that Jenna had even suggested he take it with him. "I'd rather not." He answered shortly.

"Please." Jenna insisted. "If not for me then for Maggie and Beth. They just lost their mother and brother – they don't need to lose their _father _too."

For a second she was afraid she'd overstepped her boundaries, because Hershel stiffened and an odd look passed over his features. But then, very slowly, he just shook his head in silent refusal, making no moves to reach for the gun. Jenna gnawed at her bottom lip but accepted that he wasn't going to take the weapon with him – she slid the gun back into the waistband of her pants and took a step back, releasing her hold on the door and silently telling him with her eyes that she wasn't going to stand in his way any longer. Jenna then watched as Hershel pulled away, the man never sparing her another glance, until the truck went travelling along the gravel drive and then disappeared around a grassy bend.

Jenna glanced back toward the camp to see that Carl had disappeared sometime while she'd been talking to Hershel. There was something – or rather _someone_ – else in the camp, however, that caught her attention; Daryl. He'd gone off by himself after the service and she hadn't seen him since, but now she could see that he was rummaging around in his tent. Forgetting all about Hershel for the moment, Jenna only remained where she was for another second before turning to head in his direction.

When she reached his tent, she cleared her throat to announce herself. Daryl paused, sent a look at her over his shoulder, scoffed, then turned back to what he was doing.

Jenna had expected that he would probably act like this after their blow-out argument earlier that morning, so she tried not to feel _too_ impatient with him for it. "Can we talk?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and watching as he threw random items into his bags. He said nothing in response. She let out a small sigh through her nose, contemplating how best to go about mending things between her and Daryl – it wasn't going to be easy, that much was glaringly obvious. "Look, Daryl…" She started again, not even sure if he was listening to her or not. "About what I said earlier – "

Daryl suddenly lifted his bags up and roughly pushed out of his tent, shooting her another disgruntled look – Jenna had to take a step back so he wouldn't run into her. "Save it."

Jenna pressed her lips together, unsurprised with this response since she _had _said some pretty rude things to him. "I just wanted to apologize." She told him, watching as Daryl stomped his way over to his nearby motorcycle.

"Don't waste your breath." He shot at her.

It was then that she realized he had packed up all of his things and was now attaching the bags to the back of his motorcycle. She frowned in confusion – what was he up to? Once the bags were secured to the back of the motorcycle, Daryl turned and started back for the tent. When he started to disassemble it, Jenna finally spoke up again. "What are you doing?" She asked, her eyebrows coming together uncertainly.

He didn't answer.

"Daryl – "

Daryl finally seemed to reach the end of his patience. He stopped what he was doing and rounded on her, an angry scowl fixed on his features. "Goddamnit, woman, would you just leave me _be_?" He snapped. "I'm so _sick_'a you people bein' on my ass all the damn time!" Jenna stood there in stunned silence, unable to muster a response as he paced in front of her irritably. "Can't even _wipe my ass _'round here without someone hoverin' over me tryin'ta help me do it, for shit's sake – I'm _done _with it. I'm done with this _group_, I'm done with this farm, an' I'm done with _you_! I'm'a go somewhere you naggin' _bitches_ can't bother me no more." He spat before turning to continue taking his tent apart.

Jenna blinked in surprise, and for more than one reason. Daryl was mad, _fuming _mad…mad enough, apparently, to leave the camp and find his own place to camp out. He also looked like he was on the verge of blowing up, if the way he was talking to her right then was any indication – the only other time she'd seen him anywhere close to being this furious in recent days was earlier that very same day, when she'd been yelling at him in a similar fashion. "Daryl – " She started again, her voice gentle.

He suddenly threw down some of the tent spikes he'd uprooted and whirled around to face her again. "You just don't give up, do ya?" He interrupted loudly, making her jump a little. "What, you think you're the only one 'round here who can yell at people?" He asked when he saw her reaction. "Well you got another thing comin', red." Daryl then took a few threatening steps toward her. "I'll have ya know that my life was a _helluva_ lot easier 'fore _you _came into the picture." Daryl stated matter-of-factly, wagging an index finger in her face. "Since you came around I done got my ass beat up – twice – nearly got killed – _twice_ – an' your fuckin' _naggin'_s about to drive me outta my damn mind! I don't know who ya think I am, but I ain't that damn _boyfriend_'a yours an' I ain't your lapdog neither, so this whole bossin' me around thing is gonna stop…._right now_."

His mention of Jon made her jaw drop a little, but Daryl was far from finished. "You think you're so high an' mighty, like you know everything 'bout everyone?" He asked nastily. "Well lemme tell ya somethin' – you don't know _shit_, an' you _especially _don't know shit about _me_. You ain't nothin' but a stupid _girl_ that stirs up trouble everywhere ya go." He growled, his eyes flashing furiously. "Whaddya even _do _for this group? Huh? Nothin', that's what – you're just a damn burden that nobody can seem'ta get rid of." Daryl suddenly scoffed in disgust. "Why don't you just get outta here? You'd be doin' _everyone _a favor if ya left, before ya wind up gettin' all'a _us _killed, too!"

The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Daryl stood there before her, heaving and glaring at her with the fire of a thousand hells, while all Jenna could do was stare at him in astonishment, feeling as though he'd just socked her in the gut. Is that what he really thought of her? That she was just some bossy, ignorant idiot that had gotten everyone in her previous group killed? That she was a 'burden' on everyone else? She pressed her lips together, suddenly having to fight back the emotions starting to rise up in light of his cruel words, and slowly nodded her head.

"Wow." She said after clearing her throat – now that she'd gotten a taste of her own medicine, she realized how bitter it was as it went down. Tears welled up in her eyes and she swallowed thickly, praying they wouldn't betray her and go sliding down her cheeks. She did _not _want to cry, not in front of _Daryl_. "Well…I've been trying to get you to tell me how you _really _feel…guess I should've been careful what I asked for, right?" She asked, an emotionless smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Daryl said nothing, merely continued to glare at her in silence, and in a last attempt to preserve what was left of her dignity Jenna nodded and turned to leave, not really caring where she was going but knowing she just wanted to get _away_. Daryl didn't call after her, didn't try to stop her, didn't even hint that he felt any sort of remorse for what he'd just said…and honestly, Jenna wasn't surprised. She'd been trying to figure out exactly where they stood for the past few days, and now he'd just made it glaringly obvious how he felt about her – he hated her guts.

Jenna just hadn't expected for that truth to hurt as much as it did.

* * *

She ended up hiding out in the stables for several hours, sitting tucked out of sight in one of the smelly horse stalls. Every now and again she heard the sound of her name being called out as various members of the group searched for her, but whenever anyone neared the stables she made sure to keep quiet, not wanting anyone to find her as she wallowed in her own angst and self-pity.

No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get Daryl's cruel words out of her head, couldn't stop thinking about the little girl they had buried that day, couldn't stop the horrible memories of her previous group's demise from replaying in her in her mind. She kept seeing Kelly as she got pulled under by the horde of zombies, kept seeing her mother's anguished features as Jon pulled the trigger and put her out of her misery, kept seeing the lifeless faces of Jon and Bill after they'd been murdered by the bandits.

Jenna could not stop reliving those terrible moments when they had been cruelly ripped from this world, and though she had tried so hard to convince herself otherwise, the more she thought about it, the more she feared that Daryl was right – maybe her former group _was_ dead because of her. After all, it had been _Jenna _that had dragged them across the country to search for a brother that she might never find. It had been _Jenna _that had been too inexperienced to fight against the walkers when Kelly had gotten grabbed on that run, which had forced Jon to come to _her_ aid instead his mother's and, inevitably, led to Kelly's death. It had been _Jenna _that had been too weak to protect her mother when they had gotten attacked back in the forest, to fight for her and make sure she stayed alive. When she, Jon, and Bill had come across that hitchhiker, it had been _Jenna _that had insisted they pick him up, who had begged Jon to 'do the right thing' and give him aid. And it was because of _her _that Jon and Bill were now dead.

The more those dark memories swirled around in her mind, the more Jenna believed that Daryl was right about everything. She was like a bad plague that swept through and led danger right to the doorsteps of everyone she'd ever cared for. And as she considered what had already happened to _this _group since she'd arrived – the bandits nearly killing her and Daryl, Sophia dying because they hadn't been able to find her in time, Shane becoming more and more of a threat (something _not _helped by her and Dale's meddling) – she feared her bad luck was starting to infect _this _group as well.

Then there was Daryl and his obvious abhorrence where she was concerned. As much as she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, there was no denying now that, somewhere along the line, she'd started having some sort of feelings for the crass, stubborn, hot-headed man - why _else_ would his words and the fact that he disliked her _so much _have such a negative affect on her? Now, had she planned for this to happen? Did she know _why _she had feelings for him? Had Jenna thought she'd ever even _look _at another man in that light after losing Jon? The answer to all three questions was no, but it had still happened anyway. Knowing now that he felt the complete opposite for her was a tough pill to swallow – she didn't know if she could stand to see the spiteful looks he directed toward her anymore, didn't know if her already fragile nerves could handle another hate-filled rant like the one he'd unleashed on her. Deep down she knew she deserved it – considering the things she'd said to him (more like _yelled _at him), she was lucky he hadn't done worse – but that didn't make it any less painful. In fact, seeing as he was one of the few people in the group she'd confided in when it came to her painful past, it made his words cut all the more deeply.

It was then, as Jenna sat there considering just how big of a mess things had truly become, that she actually started missing the days when her only concern had been _herself_. Not the group or Shane or Daryl or a little girl that had gone missing in the woods…the only thing she'd needed to worry about was keeping herself alive long enough to get to Fort Benning and finding her brother, like she had promised her mother she would. Everything had seemed so much simpler then, so much less complicated.

As indecisive as she had been thus far about whether she was going to remain with the group if and when the time came to choose, she suddenly found herself realizing that maybe it would be best if she just closed this chapter of her journey and moved on, before she started to care about the group any more than she already did – as far as Jenna was concerned, she already cared about them _too _much – and before things had a chance to get any more complicated than they already were. Jenna knew that running away just because things were getting hard and because she was starting to become too attached to the group was the coward's way out, but in that moment, after all the things that had happened that day, it seemed like the easiest solution to all of her problems.

Whether Hershel let the group stay on the farm or not, it was time for Jenna to leave the group and go her own way.

She couldn't lie, the thought of leaving the group behind made her heart feel as though it had turned to lead – these people had taken care of her, helped her, had become her friends (most of them, anyway). But since when had caring about people ever done her any good in this world anyway? No, Jenna was convinced that she was making the right decision – at least this way she wouldn't have to endure Daryl's hatred anymore, wouldn't have to deal with Shane, would never have to see anyone else die, would never have to watch any of them suffer; she could go on believing that the group was doing just fine without her and that they were persevering, making a semi-normal life for themselves somewhere in this chaotic world.

It was dark by the time Jenna finally found the courage to venture out of the stables and head back to camp, having made up her mind on the matter and come to the decision that she would take her leave in the morning. It was sudden, yes, but Jenna saw no use in delaying the inevitable – lingering longer than necessary would only make her doubt her decision or make her want to stay. She was definitely dreading the moment she had to come clean to the group about her plans though. Some, like Daryl and Shane for example, would probably be happy to hear the news, but something told her the rest wouldn't react to it very well. Luckily for her it seemed she wouldn't have to face too many questions right off the bat, because when she went walking back into camp there was hardly anyone around – T-Dog and Andrea were sitting next to a small campfire while Dale could be seen standing atop the RV, a pair of binoculars in one hand and a gun in the other.

Andrea was the first one to notice her. "Jenna!" She said, immediately getting to her feet with a relief written all over her pretty face. This made T-Dog's head jerk up and swivel toward her, an expression similar to that of Andrea's taking over his face, and also caught the attention of Dale, who wasted no time to start climbing down from the roof of his camper. "Where've you been?" The blonde asked, hurrying toward her with T-Dog hot on her heels. "You've been gone for _hours_ – we were starting to get _really _worried!"

"Sorry." Jenna offered half-heartedly, finding that it was a little difficult to meet their concerned gazes. "I just…needed a little time to myself." Was the lame excuse she then gave the worried duo.

Andrea and T-Dog shared a look – clearly they could tell that something was wrong with Jenna. "You okay?" T-Dog asked uncertainly. "You look like hell. Did somethin' happen?"

Jenna gulped and quickly shook her head. "Nothing happened." She lied. "It's been a long day, that's all." It looked like they were about to pry a little further, so Jenna quickly changed the subject. "Where is everyone?" She asked, noticing that the camp was rather empty – her eyes lingered on the spot where Daryl's tent _used _to be, a heavy feeling momentarily passing through her.

Andrea and T-Dog shared another not-so-discreet look, but didn't question her further. "Well, Rick and Glenn left this afternoon to go find Hershel, who apparently decided he needed to get away from the farm for a while – Beth's in shock or something, collapsed in the kitchen earlier today." Andrea explained, making Jenna's eyebrows furrow together. "And since Hershel's the only doctor around that can help her, they didn't really have a choice but to go get him." Jenna nodded her understanding, then listened as Andrea continued on. "When the guys didn't come back soon enough, Lori got the bright idea to go after Rick and Glenn by _herself_ and left God-knows-when without telling anyone. And once we finally found out _she_ was gone, then _Shane _went after _Lori._ So basically a fourth of the group is out there running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find each other."

"None of them are back yet?" Jenna asked, unable to help feeling a little concerned with this information despite her plans to leave and detach herself from the group – Dale had finally reached them by this point and came to stand with them, his eyes trained on her with a hint of guilt lurking in their depths. Jenna only met his stare for a second before shifting her attention back to Andrea and T-Dog.

"No." T-Dog answered with a shake of his head. "And we've already decided – if they ain't back by tomorrow mornin', we're organizin' a search party. We can't be havin' our people split up like this." He said with a frown. "Can we count you in, Jenna?" T-Dog then asked. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Jenna pressed her lips together, frowning deeply as she thought this over. She hadn't planned to stick around for very long once the sun was up again, but, at the same time, Rick and the others could very well be in trouble and need their help – she couldn't leave without at least knowing that they had all safely returned to the farm. The not knowing would only eat away at her and make leaving all the more difficult.

"Yeah, I'll go." Jenna finally agreed, deciding to delay her plans for just a little bit longer.

"Good." T-Dog said, nodding his approval. "We'll wait an' see what happens then – if they don't come back tonight, we'll roll out first thing in the morning." Looking satisfied with this plan, T-Dog then started off. "I'm gonna go tell Daryl, see if he's in too." He announced before walking off.

With T-Dog gone, Jenna found herself standing in silence with Andrea and Dale. After a few slightly-awkward seconds, where Dale kept eyeing Jenna with an expression that hinted he had something he wanted to say to her, she nodded in the direction of her tent. "I think I'm gonna go get some rest – I'm pretty beat." She said, forcing on a small smile. "Let me know if anything changes, though, okay?"

"Sure thing." Andrea reassured her, reaching out to pat her sympathetically on the shoulder. "Sleep well, okay?"

That probably wouldn't be happening, but Jenna nodded anyway before starting in the direction of her tent, shooting a look at Dale as she brushed past him – he watched her go without saying a word, a frown turning the corners of his mouth downward.

Once in the safety of her tent, Jenna crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, taking a long look around. Then, after sucking in a steadying breath, she crouched down to start gathering up her belongings. It was when she had started to repack her things in her duffle bag that she heard someone enter her tent – Jenna didn't even have to turn around to know that it was Dale.

"What do you want, Dale?" She asked without even sparing him a glance, keeping her eyes locked on the shirts she was folding and placing in her bag.

"I wanted to apologize." He answered somberly. "I didn't mean to get testy with you earlier today. You were right – it's been a trying day for everyone, and though I stand by the fact that Rick needs to know about all of this with Shane, maybe today isn't the day for it. I just…was trying to look out for the group." Jenna finally glanced at him over her shoulder – there was nothing but sincere remorse on his bearded face. "Can you forgive me?"

Jenna only hesitated for a second before nodding her head. "Yeah, I forgive you." She said, offering a small smile.

Dale sighed in relief and nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up in a half-smile. Jenna inclined her head to him and then turned back to what she was doing, packing up a few more articles of clothing in silence before reaching for a few nearby books and shoving them into the bag, too.

It was only then that Dale seemed to realize that Jenna was filling her bag with her belongings. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously, taking a few steps closer and watching her with inspecting eyes. "I don't think you'll need all that when you go to look for the others…"

Jenna froze for a second, gulped, then resumed what she was doing – _Here we go_, she mentally prepped herself. "I know." She answered flatly. "I'm getting ready to leave the farm."

Dale clicked his tongue and shook his head, though he didn't look nearly as shocked by this news as she had expected him to. "Jenna, we don't for sure that Hershel's kickin' us – " He started to say.

Realizing she hadn't clarified herself well enough, Jenna interrupted him. "No, Dale." Dale fell silent, his eyebrows stitching together in confusion. "_I'm _getting ready to leave the farm – _alone_." Then, with a serious expression on her face, she revealed her plans. "I'm leaving the group, Dale. I'm gonna continue on to Fort Benning."

The older man was dead silent for a few uncomfortable seconds. Then, he finally exploded. "_What_?" He snapped, the expression on his face that of disbelief. "Jenna, you can't be serious!"

Jenna quickly shushed him when she thought his tone was too loud, casting a wary look outside – just because she was confiding in Dale didn't mean she wanted the others to know what was going on just yet; luckily Andrea was the only one in the area and she didn't seem to have heard Dale's outburst. "Would you keep your voice down?" She said in a harsh whisper, frowning over at him.

Dale, however, just shook his head in disbelief. "Why, Jenna?" He demanded, wanting answers. "Why are you leaving?"

Jenna pursed her lips for a second before turning her gaze elsewhere, uncomfortable with the intent, incredulous way he was staring at her. "I have my reasons…" She answered vaguely.

Dale wasn't about to accept that as an answer, however. "You better give me more of an explanation than that!" He shot back at her angrily. "You can't just say you're leaving and then not tell me why!" Then he threw an arm up in exasperation, clearly not understanding what had brought on her decision. "Jesus, Jenna, you can't just _leave_, not after what happened today – not after Sophia! The group will be _crushed_!"

Jenna shook her head and turned back to her bag, shoving move things into it with reckless abandon. "You guys were doing fine before I came along, you'll be fine after I'm gone." She said in a resolute voice.

"_But you're one of us_!" He hissed at her furiously.

Jenna finally heaved and shoved her bag away, whirling around to face Dale fully. "Dale, just _stop_!" She instructed in firm voice, bringing his arguments to a quick halt. "I _have _to do this, okay? Things here are getting _way_ too complicated. And after Sophia, I just…" She trailed off for a moment and reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose with a heavy sigh. "I can't watch anyone else die, Dale. I've lost too many people I care about already." She admitted, pleading him with her eyes to understand.

"You're running because you're _scared._" Dale countered, his tone sounding a little accusing – unfortunately, he'd hit the nail right on the head. "Jenna, we're _all _scared. But that's just all the more reason to stick together, to help each other survive and make it through all of this!" He argued determinedly. "You can't just come in here, make us care about you, then leave without giving it a second thought – that isn't fair to us!"

"I've given this a _lot _of thought, actually." She rebutted stubbornly, starting to lose some of her patience. "And I'm sorry, Dale, but I've made up my mind." She told him, her own stubbornness making it impossible for her to even consider another alternative. "I promised my mother before she died that I would make it to Fort Benning, that I would find my brother. I'm holding true to that promise and that's that."

To prove her point she turned and started to throw more things into her bag. But what Dale said next had her instantly freezing. "What about Daryl?"

Jenna turned a look on the older man, not sure why he was bringing up the very man that had inadvertently put this new plan of hers into motion. "What _about _Daryl?" She asked in a steady voice, trying to appear unaffected.

"How do you think he'll react to you leaving?" Dale questioned, eyebrows raising inquiringly. "He cares about you, Jenna, I can tell – and that's sayin' something, because Daryl Dixon doesn't usually care about _anyone_." He then pointed a finger at her. "I know _you _care about _him_, too. I've seen the way you are around him, the way what he does affects you."

She snorted at hearing that (even though he was _right _in regards to her feelings toward Daryl – he didn't need to know that, though) then shot him a disbelieving look. "Sorry old man, but you're wrong. Daryl doesn't give a rat's ass about me – _he's _the one who told me to leave in the first place." She blurted out.

Dale's eyes widened with shock – Jenna mentally cursed herself for having revealed that to Dale, knowing it wouldn't help anything. "He what?" He asked slowly. "Did he really tell you – "

"Look, it doesn't matter." Jenna quickly interrupted, holding up a hand to silence Dale; Daryl's cruel words and his suggestion that she leave the group was the _last _thing she wanted to discuss right then. "And I didn't tell you all of this so you could try to change my mind – as soon as we find the others and get them back to the farm, I'm leaving. There's nothing you can do or say to change that."

Dale started to open his mouth to say something in return, but when a noise from outside the tent caught their attention he hesitated and turned to take a peek outside – Jenna craned her neck so that she too could see what was going on and saw that a familiar green Hyundai had just come driving back into camp. Shane and Lori had just returned, and though the brunette was looking a little worse for wear, she was otherwise alive and still in one piece. Jenna's gaze drifted back over to Dale as he turned back around to face her again before she sighed and shook her head.

"You should go check on Lori." She suggested in a quiet voice, unable to meet his gaze now. "And I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself for now – I want the rest of the group to hear about this from me, _not _through gossip."

Dale still looked upset, maybe even a little offended when she snuck a glance at him, but it seemed that he finally understood she wasn't going to be talked out of her decision. With a heavy sigh of defeat, he stared at her for one last long second before turning to leave – just before he stepped out of her tent, however, he paused and shot a look at her over his shoulder. "I may not be able to change your mind, Jenna…" He started. "…but I still think you're making a mistake by leaving." Dale shook his head, his eyes filling with sadness now. "I just hope you realize that before it's too late."

And with those parting words Dale left her tent, leaving Jenna to stare silently at the spot he'd just vacated.

* * *

**Thoughts?!**


End file.
